Penguins re-sign Zohorna for two years taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

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Radim Zohorna

The Penguins re-signed one of their two restricted free agents on Tuesday, Ron Hextall announced.

The Penguins re-signed forward Radim Zohorna to a two-year contract that carries an average annual value of the league-minimum $750,000.

The contract is two-way in 2021-22, and one-way in 2022-23. The only difference between a two-way contract and a one-way contract is that a two-way contract pays less if the player is in the minors.

Zohorna remains exempt from waivers to start next season, something that is calculated based on a player's signing age, pro seasons played, and NHL games played. Zohorna will become eligible for waivers in 2022-23 or when he plays 42 more NHL games, whichever comes first.

Zohorna, 25, will  be an unrestricted free agent when his contract ends.

He figures to be one of the forwards in competition for one of the Penguins' bottom-six spots to start next season.

"Radim impressed us last season with his ability to transition to the smaller ice surface quickly and adapt his game," Hextall said of Zohorna in a team statement. "He is a power forward with a lot of potential and we are excited to watch him continue to grow as a player."

Zohorna, 6 foot 6 and 220 pounds, can play both center and wing. He started the 2020-21 season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and exclusively played center, recording three goals and eight assists in 12 games. He made his NHL debut on March 25 against Buffalo, and scored his first goal on his first shot. He appeared in eight games, playing wing, and scored two goals and two assists. He finished the season on Pittsburgh's taxi squad.

The Penguins' last remaining restricted free agent is Zach Aston-Reese. CapFriendly projects the Penguins as having $2,596,795 in cap space for next season, a figure that assumes some of this offseason's signings -- Zohorna, Dominik Simon, Michael Chaput and Taylor Fedun -- start the season in Wilkes-Barre.

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