All eyes are on the Stanley Cup Playoffs and rightfully so. That doesn't mean all the other teams are closed for business. The Penguins slipped in a player signing
The Penguins have signed defenseman Juuso Riikola to a one-year, entry-level contract. Riikola, 24, spent the past few weeks representing his native Finland at the 2018 World Championship.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 18, 2018
Full details: https://t.co/QG8Bvy1o3a pic.twitter.com/CeKF15DvX2
Riikola has been playing professionally since the age of 19 in Finland and is now 24 years old. Here is what his sample looks like
The last two years he's picked up his offensive game which is a good thing. The obvious issue will be translating that production into the world's best hockey league. Gabriel Desjardins did work a number of years ago on the point production European players have overseas and how it translates to the NHL (link
After taking Riikola's 24 points through the conversion it would be around 13 points in the NHL. As Josh Weissbock used to say about these conversions, they are probabilities not destinies.
The Penguins organizational depth at defense is down from prior years. This is a harmless signing and something worth trying. I don't spend time scouting the SM-liiga so this is going to have to be a wait and see thing for me. I go into it with no expectations.
Thanks for reading!