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Penguins sign one of Finland's best forwards

April 23, 2019, 11:07 AM ET [97 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Pittsburgh made a depth signing yesterday and you are lying if you claim to know who this player is. The Penguins came to terms with Oula Palve. Here is an excerpt from the Penguins website about Palve

His entry-level deal is for the 2019-20 campaign and it is a two-way contract.
Palve, 27, finished inside the top-10 scorers in Finland's top professional league (Liiga) each of the past two seasons. During this past year, Palve led TPS Turku and placed tied for sixth in scoring with 51 points (16G-35A) and a plus-5 in 53 games. He tacked on four points (1G-3A) in five postseason contests. Palve played on a line with Kaapo Kakko, who is ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the highest-rated European Skater heading into the 2019 NHL Draft.

I like the signing despite not really knowing anything about the player. The reason is because there is literally no risk. If it doesn’t work out it has no negative or lasting impact. A two-way contract means there is no cap ramification for sending Palve down to WB/S or if he leaves to go back to Finland.

Looking at Palve on the surface level his 51 points sticks out as a positive. It means he has an offensive pulse. He must be able to do something with the puck or else he wouldn’t earn that many points. He was a top-10 scorer after all. If we use the Liiga to NHL translation in points (0.54) his 51 points is estimated to be ~28 points in the NHL. This sounds exactly like the description I laid out yesterday on how I think the Penguins should fill out their fourth line depth. Keep in mind he isn't going to get the same usage at 5v5 or on the power play if hes up with the big club

Palve is 27 years old so this isn’t a prospect situation. He is what he is. What that might be is a depth player capable of chipping in offensively which is something the Penguins definitely need heading into 2019-20.

No risk and potential for reward is never a bad signing.

Thanks for reading!
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