Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins caught the hockey world off guard by signing forward Ville Koivunen to an eight-year, $32 million contract – a $4 million salary cap hit.
The 23-year-old forward scored two goals and added five assists in 39 games last season. In eight games the previous season, he recorded seven assists. He was drafted 51st overall in the second round of the 2021 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and was acquired by the Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade.
Puck Pedia: The deal buys four years of unrestricted free agency and there is no trade protection. Contract breakdown.
2026-27: $850,000 salary, and a $2 million signing bonus
2026-27: $900,000, and a $2 million signing bonus
2026-27: $4.25 million
2026-27: $4.35 million
2026-27: $4.4 million
2026-27: $4.5 million
2026-27: $4.5 million
2026-27: $4.25 million
If Morgan Rielly start the season with the Maple Leafs, will he finish it?
The signing did draw a lot of comments yesterday from members of the media.
Josh Yohe: “I’ve seen some weird shit in my day. This is right up there.”
Jesse Marshall: “I certainly haven’t given up on Koivunen. It would be stupid to do so. It is way, way too early for that. At the same time, there are undeniable red flags that have come up in his development. If those red flags continue, the term doesn’t make any sense to me at all.”
Taylor Haase: “The Penguins feel the Ville Koivunen signing is a pretty low risk/high reward deal. With the cap going up significantly they don’t think $4 million is a lot of money, and with the eight-year term they’re betting on his upside.”
Jesse Marshall: “My biggest issue with Koivunen isn’t his size, it’s his processor at the NHL level. He doesn’t think in the AHL, he just does. He makes seamless transition plays and is dynamic offensively. When he gets called up, that grinds to a snails pace. He begins thinking too much.”
Dan Kingerski: “If I didn’t have an email from Penguins PR waiting for me as soon I walked in the door, I’m not sure I would have believed it either. This might be the most shocking contract in my career. I like Koivunen personally, and I think he has real potential, but I expected a one or two-year show-me deal.”
Thomas Drance: “Fascinating. The deal uses expiring variability rules to backload Koivunen’s contract, mitigating the risk significantly from the team side (I.e no SB in the way of a 1/3 buyout if this goes belly up). This really isn’t a high risk gamble. It’s a conservative bet.”
Kelsey Surmacz: “Objectively speaking, the Koivunen contract is a pretty low-risk bet: – If he pans out, $4 million for eight is a bargain. – If he’s an average NHLer, $4 million is about on par with what he’d make, anyway. – If he doesn’t pan out, $4 million looks like nothing in a few years.”
Kelsey Surmacz: “The Koivunen contract also tells me that they’re betting on him playing in the NHL next season. He’s waivers-eligible. Right now, the Pens have 15 Fs on their NHL roster. Feels like someone might be packing their bags soon. Either that, or they’ll have to waive multiple players”
David St. Louis: “Pens are betting on smaller, smarter, but not very toolsy players. I like many of their selections/gambles in a vacuum, but I’m not sure about team outlook in a few years. I rarely had a bad viewing of Koivunen. Improved physically, above average playmaking. Not sure.”
Tony Androckitis: “Interesting point made to me: If Ville Koivunen doesn’t make #Pens roster out of training camp, that eight-year/$4 million AAV contract is essentially waiver-proof. No one is picking up Koivunen on a gamble when he’s got seven more years left on his deal.”
What happened between Alex Tuch and the Buffalo Sabres?
Something to note on this contract – if the Pens buy him out in summer 2028, they’ll be on the hook for 12 seasons but the cap hit will never exceed $750K
there’s essentially a “get out of jail free” baked in if he actually doesn’t turn out to be a player in the next two seasons https://t.co/4i2dqxGSKw
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 6, 2026
Ville Koivunen has some positive signs under the hood, but an incredibly limited NHL track record. The Penguins are clearly betting on him leveling up to at least middle-six caliber over this contract. pic.twitter.com/VzUKR0g9y4
— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) August 6, 2026
Ville Koivunen and the @penguins have agreed to a long term contract. The deal is a shock at first, but they have the cap space now to potentially try and profit on his offensive potential. Worst case, $4M is quickly becoming bottom six, even 4th line money. #NHL pic.twitter.com/ebtjZYzfX4
— AFP Analytics (@AFPAnalytics) August 6, 2026
