Ron Hextall has taken a cautious, measured approach to revamping the Penguins' roster since he replaced Jim Rutherford in February.
He proved Monday, though, that he's willing to take a gamble now and then.
Not that he had much choice.
Hextall extended a qualifying offer to fourth-line winger Zach Aston-Reese, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent Wednesday at noon.
Aston-Reese thus remains restricted, so the Penguins will be entitled to match any offer he receives from another team, or to receive compensation if they don't want to match.
So, what's the risk in Hextall's decision?
It means Aston-Reese, who had a $1 million cap hit in his most recent contract, will be able to take the Penguins to arbitration if the parties aren't able to strike a deal.
He was scheduled to do that in 2019, although an agreement ultimately was reached shortly before the hearing was to be conducted.
For a team flirting with the salary-cap ceiling, as the Penguins are, an unfavorable award after such a hearing could take a financial wrecking ball to its plans for 2021-22.
Hextall isn't expected to speak publicly until sometime after free agency begins, so his rationale for qualifying Aston-Reese isn't known, but it's not hard to make a case for trying to keep him.
Aston-Reese was part of a highly effective fourth line for the Penguins last season, working alongside Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev.
He had nine goals and six assists in 45 regular-season games, and was a fixture on the penalty-killing unit, averaging one minute, 52 seconds of shorthanded work per game. That placed third among Penguins forwards, behind only Tanev (2:24) and Blueger (2:09).
Aston-Reese also consistently fared well in advanced analytics that circulated publicly, although most teams maintain their own versions of those.
By all but assuring that he will return, that unit can remain largely intact going into next season, if Mike Sullivan and his staff decide that is prudent.
Blueger got a two-year contract recently, but the Penguins lost Tanev to Seattle in the expansion draft last week, so one significant piece of that unit will have to be replaced.
The Penguins could try to plug that hole with an internal candidate -- Sam Lafferty and Anthony Angello would be among the players on that list -- or via free agency of a trade.
The Penguins also qualified Radim Zohorna, who is expected to contend for a bottom-six job during training camp.
He, like Aston-Reese, is eligible to file for arbitration, but with just eight NHL appearances (two goals, two assists) on his resume, won't have much leverage in contract talks.
