CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Penguins didn't extend restricted free agent forward Emil Bemstrom a qualifying offer on Sunday, making Bemstrom an unrestricted free agent at noon on Monday.
That didn't mean the Penguins didn't want Bemstrom back, though. They re-signed him to a one-year, one-way contract worth the league-minimum $775,000 just hours into free agency.
Whether a contract is one- or two-way has no bearing on where a player can or will play, only what he gets paid if in the minors. Bemstrom's contract being one-way only means that if he is waived and re-assigned to the minors, he'll get paid his full $775,000 salary, but it would not count toward the salary cap.
Bemstrom's new deal is a pay cut from his previous contract that carried a $900,000 cap hit. Qualifying offers for restricted free agents come with raises, and had the Penguins qualified Bemstrom, it would have been for a one-year deal worth $945,000. Not wanting to spend that much on Bemstrom, the Penguins opted to not qualify him and re-sign him to a new deal in free agency.
Bemstrom, who just turned 25 last month, was a mid-season acquisition in the trade that sent Alex Nylander to Columbus. Bemstrom had five goals and six assists in 32 games primarily in a top-six role with the Blue Jackets before the trade, and three goals and two assists in 24 games with the Penguins in a bottom-six role after the trade.
If Bemstrom makes the NHL roster, he'd likely be a third- or fourth-line wing. But if not, he'd likely clear waivers if the Penguins wanted to put him in Wilkes-Barre. He was able to clear last season when the Blue Jackets sent him to the Cleveland Monsters, their AHL affiliate, for a brief stint.
