Penguins A to Z: Can Zach Aston-Reese build off his breakout season?

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Zach Aston-Reese

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Age: 26

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 204 pounds

2019-20 NHL statistics: 57 games, 13 points (six goals, seven assists)

Contract: Second year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1 million. Pending restricted free agent in 2021.

Acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent, March 14, 2017

Last season: After a handful of years in which he battled injuries and inconsistency, Aston-Reese became one of the more reliable members of the Penguins in 2019-20.

Not so much for his individual accomplishments but for the collective cohesion he established on the team’s vaunted fourth (but really third) line along with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev.

Used on the left wing, Aston-Reese helped form a trio coach Mike Sullivan was forlorn to break up, even as the other lines were ravaged by injuries.

Initially formed Oct. 10, that line remained intact until Aston-Reese suffered an undisclosed injury Feb. 16. By the time the NHL resumed play in the summer with a postseason tournament, Aston-Reese was reunited with Blueger and Tanev for the playoffs.

Aston-Reese underwent surgery on his left shoulder in mid-August and, by all accounts, is on schedule to make a full recovery within the prescribed recovery time frame of six months.

The future: At least from a medical perspective, Aston-Reese probably could benefit from the NHL being on hiatus this fall and into the winter given his shoulder injury. Aston-Reese might be able to play a game again six months after shoulder surgery but being able to play at the same level he offered most of last season might take a little time. Shoulder ailments can be notorious in how long the true recovery time can linger.

For a player whose game is pretty physical, any extra time he can get to rebuild strength and confidence in that limb will be valuable.

Once he returns, his presence will create something of a problem for management in that he would push the Penguins over the NHL’s roster limit of 23 players (assuming all of his teammates avoid maladies and placement on injured reserve).

But given the uncertainty of how the American Hockey League will operate next season, the NHL very well could expand rosters to keep reserves on hand and to alleviate any issues on that front.

There’s little to suggest Aston-Reese would be in danger of losing his place on his line with Blueger and Tanev. That trio clearly earned the trust of Sullivan last season, especially considering how often it was deployed against the opposition’s top lines.

He might even be in line to add some duties on the power play. With net-front terror Patric Hornqvist jettisoned in a September trade, Aston-Reese could inherit that role on the second power-play unit. Don’t forget: When Aston-Reese was signed out of college in 2017, general manager Jim Rutherford compared him to Hornqvist in that regard.

Aston-Reese already has a regular role on the penalty kill, having averaged 1 minute, 35 seconds of short-handed ice time per game last season.

Whenever he steps on the ice, the 2020-21 season will be key for Aston-Reese in that he is a pending restricted free agent. After largely spinning his wheels in the first two seasons of his NHL existence, he finally established traction and found a role in 2019-20. If he can keep himself pointed to the magnetic north through an uncertain six months, Aston-Reese can put himself in line for a lucrative long-term contract heading into 2021-22.

Follow the Penguins all season long.