Andonovski re-signing good depth for minors

The Penguins only extended a qualifying offer to one of their pending restricted free agents earlier this week -- forward prospect Corey Andonovski. On Friday they re-signed Andonovski to a one-year, two-way contract worth the league-minimum $775,000 at the NHL level.

Andonovski, 25, is a 6-foot-1, 191-pound right-handed winger who has spent the last two seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after being signed by Ron Hextall as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton after his senior season in 2022. 

Andonovski had 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 63 games last season, up from his rookie year totals of 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 62 games:

Andonovski is a bottom-six-type forward. He's physical, a heavy hitter and a solid net-front presence. He fights occasionally too, dropping the gloves twice in each of the last two seasons. But he's not a particularly adept fighter, and three of the four bouts were Andonovski having to answer for his own hits -- not anything he initiated. 

Andonovski has yet to earn an NHL recall over his two seasons in the organization, but he's a pretty key contributor at the AHL level -- his 30 points this past season ranked fifth on the team in scoring and fourth among forwards. He contributed more offensively at that level than some forwards who did earn recalls, like Radim Zohorna, Joona Koppanen, Jonathan Gruden and Marc Johnstone.

Andonovski's path to the NHL isn't going to get any easier next season, with younger forwards like Sam Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen and Gruden still in the fold and looking for increased roles, and new forwards Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen and Tristan Broz in the mix.