Penguins A to Z: Sam Lafferty has a job, now he needs a role
As the NHL prepares for a new season scheduled to start in mid-January, 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.
Sam Lafferty
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Age: 25
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 195 pounds
2019-20 NHL statistics: 50 games, 13 points (six goals, seven assists)
2019-20 AHL statistics: Six games, three points (three goals, zero assists)
Contract: First year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $750,000. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2022.
Acquired: Fourth-round draft pick (No. 113 overall), June 28, 2014
Last season: When Sam Lafferty made his NHL debut on Oct. 8, 2019, it was quite the occasion. A native of Hollidaysburg, he joined a limited fraternity of Western Pennsylvanians who had played for the Penguins.
A kid who grew up watching Sidney Crosby getting to skate with him? It was a nice story.
A nicer story, as it turned out, was the fact that Lafferty was much more than a local who got a chance with the Penguins. He was a viable contributor who was relied upon in a variety of roles when injuries sidelined many of the Penguins veteran forwards.
He was a legit NHL player.
Salary cap concerns forced Lafferty, who was still exempt from waivers, to make a handful of trips across the state between Pittsburgh and Northeast Pennsylvania as he was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on three occasions during the regular season.
But he proved he was an NHL player, particularly with a strong first 21 games of the season when he put up 10 points (four goals, six points), primarily in a bottom-six role while averaging 11:57 of ice time.
The rigors of the NHL game appeared to catch up with Lafferty, however. In his final 29 games, he could only generate three points (two goals, one assist) and saw his time on ice dip to an average of 7:56 over that span.
After halting play in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL staged a postseason tournament starting in August that included expanded rosters. Lafferty was part in the group of players the Penguins took to Toronto and even made his playoff debut, appearing in one game.
A restricted free agent this offseason, Lafferty was re-signed Oct. 8.
The future: Given Lafferty’s success last season, his new one-way contract and that the NHL will once again operate with expanded rosters in the 2020-21 season, Lafferty will have a job with the NHL club. But he’s still looking for a role.
As one of the few right-handed forwards capable of taking a faceoff, he’ll always have value on a roster dominated by southpaw centers, even if his faceoff winning percentage wasn’t that impressive (49.6%) last season.
Capable of killing penalties and mixing it up physically, Lafferty can do a little of everything in a bottom-six slot. With a grinder of a condensed schedule this upcoming season as well as the potential for players being sidelined due to the coronavirus, there figures to be ample opportunity for Lafferty to be useful to the Penguins’ coaches once again.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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