Penguins A to Z: Nathan Beaulieu was a no-risk and no-reward addition

With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Nathan Beaulieu

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 29

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 200 pounds

2021-22 NHL statistics: 24 games, four points (zero goals, four assists)

Contract: In the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.25 million. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

Acquired: Trade, March 21, 2022

(Note: The Penguins acquired Beaulieu from the Winnipeg Jets for a conditional seventh-round selection in this year’s draft. The conditions of the selection called on the Penguins to reach this season’s Stanley Cup Final with Beaulieu appearing in half of the team’s postseason games. Those conditions were not met and the Penguins retained that draft pick.)

Last season: The timing of the trade the Penguins made to acquire Beaulieu was curious.

To be clear, the literal time of day was what was curious.

Word of the transaction was initially reported at 5:35 a.m. the day of the trade deadline, March 21.

In addition to agreeing to the transaction at such an early hour, it was also curious why the Penguins wanted to add a player who was on long-term injured reserve and had not played that well when he was healthy.

As it turned out, the Penguins simply wanted to add an extra body in the event injuries or other factors depleted the blue line in the playoffs. With the Penguins bumping their heads against the salary cap ceiling, there was no way they could activate until the postseason when the salary cap is not enforced.

After participating in a few practices during the late stages of the regular season, Beaulieu was formally activated from long-term injured reserve May 5. And while he wasn’t too far away from actually being in the lineup given a knee injury suffered by top-pairing defenseman Brian Dumoulin, Beaulieu was a healthy scratch for the final six games of the Penguins’ first-round playoff series loss to the New York Rangers.

Aside from a handful of pregame warm-up skates, Beaulieu never wore a Penguins jersey.

Before joining the Penguins, Beaulieu largely struggled to even get into the Jets’ lineup as he was a healthy scratch for 20 of the first 40 games of the regular season.

Perhaps his most notable moment of the season came in Pittsburgh as a visitor, oddly enough. During a 3-2 shootout win by the Penguins, Beaulieu hobbled Penguins forward Brock McGinn with a hit from behind into the boards then fought Penguins forward Brian Boyle, causing an injury for Boyle.

After an undisclosed injury sidelined Beaulieu for nine of 10 games between Jan. 29 and Feb. 21, Beaulieu appeared in five games before another undisclosed ailment suffered on March 4 landed him on long-term injured reserve.

The future: Beaulieu was a no-risk acquisition. And it turned out he was a no-reward acquisition as well.

The motivation for acquiring him was sound, especially since it ultimately did not cost the Penguins any assets and he did not impact their salary cap.

Is there motivation to retain him?

Probably not.

First, the Penguins have no shortage of veteran left-handed defensemen.

Second, he struggled considerably in 2021-22 as evidenced by his infrequent deployment by a non-playoff Jets team as well as the minimal return the Jets sought in trying to offload his contract.

Considering he was a first-round pick (No. 17) overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2011, he will get a chance elsewhere. First-rounders always seem to get that benefit other players won’t.

And Beaulieu offers a physical element that many teams still find appealing.

But he won’t be receiving any contract offers worth seven figures per season. And it’s doubtful he’ll return to the Penguins.

Follow the Penguins all season long.