The Penguins knew going into Day 1 of the NHL's free agency Friday that they weren't going to make any franchise-changing moves.
That doesn't mean they couldn't try to make progress on their offseason to-do list, though, and Jim Rutherford believes his first two signings will go a long way toward rebuilding the team's third line, a priority heading into 2020-21. Forward Evan Rodrigues, who finished last season with the Penguins before being sent to the Maple Leafs in the Kasperi Kapanen trade in August, and center Mark Jankowski, late of the Flames, signed matching one-year, $700,000 deals.
And while roles won't be settled until training camp -- or maybe later -- Rutherford said he has those two penciled in alongside Jared McCann on the No. 3 line, with McCann shifting to left wing and Jankowski playing in the middle.
"That gives us speed on the wings," Rutherford said. "It gives us the defensive center we're looking for. I don't want to compare Jankowski to (Nick) Bonino ... but it's more along those lines of what we had when we were having more success in '16 and '17."
Those signings sealed the decision to not try to bring back forward Dominik Simon, to whom the Penguins had declined to extend a qualifying offer because they were concerned that, if he took the team to arbitration, he would be awarded a contract that would cause salary-cap problems for them.
As it is, CapFriendly.com puts them about $2.5 million below the cap ceiling of $81.5 million for the coming season.
Rutherford still hopes to get a right-handed defenseman and a No. 3 goalie in free agency, but said it's possible there might not be any more additions to the major-league roster for a few days.
"I don't believe we'll make moves immediately," he said. "I think now's the time to sit back for a few days and see what else might come along. That's the plan, as of now."
Rodrigues, 27, came to the Penguins from Buffalo with Conor Sheary in a trade-deadline deal. He had one goal in seven games here after putting up five goals and four assists in 38 games with the Sabres.
The Penguins sent him to Toronto in the Kapanen trade because they didn't want to give him a qualifying offer, and the Maple Leafs also declined to extend one, making him an unrestricted free agent.
"He worked his way back to us at a number we could fit into our cap, so we were happy about that," Rutherford said. "We've always liked Evan as a player. He's skilled. He's got a lot of versatility. He can actually play up in the top-six, when necessary, and he can play all three forward positions."
Jankowski is 6 feet 4, 212 pounds and had five goals and two assists in 56 games with the Flames in 2019-20.
And while he has been praised for his offensive instincts and hockey sense, which helped him to score 17 goals in 2017-18 and 14 the following season, Rutherford said it's Jankowski's defensive game that makes him a strong candidate for the third-line role. He also was a fixture on Calgary's penalty-killing unit, and scored five short-handed goals in 2018-19.
"He's a big center who's good defensively," Rutherford said. "When I say 'good defensively,' the two years prior to (2019-20), he scored enough goals that we would be comfortable with him as a third-line center, because of his defense. If he can score in that range, 14 to 17 goals, like he did the two years prior, we'd be pretty pleased with that.
"He's coming off of five goals. That's not a good year for a player like this. But being a first-round pick (in 2012), I'm sure that if you asked him and the Flames, they would say they had higher expectations. ... What we're looking for is, really, for him to get back to that, where he was two years ago and three years ago."
Which could help the Penguins get back to where they were three or four years ago.