Penguins re-sign defenseman Juuso Riikola

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed defenseman Juuso Riikola to a two-year contract extension with a salary cap hit of $1.15 million.

Riikola, 26, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

A native of Joensuu, Finland, the undrafted Riikola has spent the past two seasons with Penguins, primarily as a reserve. In 73 career games with the Penguins, Riikola has 12 points (three goals).

During the 2019-20 regular season, Riikola appeared in 36 games, including a four as a left winger, and had seven points (one goal, six assists).

A left-handed shot, Riikola was a healthy scratch for 37 of a possible 73 games in 2019-20, including the Penguins’ four postseason game in August.

Riikola (6-foot, 189 pounds) previously was signed to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $850,000. According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins now have $8,021,492 heading into the 2020-21 offseason. They have several key players scheduled to become restricted free agents this upcoming offseason including goaltenders Tristan Jarry, Matt Murray and forward Jared McCann.

Along with Riikola, the Penguins have several left-handed defenseman signed for the 2020-21 campaign including Brian Dumoulin, Jack Johnson, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Marcus Pettersson.

Despite such infrequent usage by coach Mike Sullivan, general manager Jim Rutherford offered a rousing endorsement of Riikola when interviewed by the Tribune-Review last month.

“He’s done a good job when he’s gone in,” Rutherford said. “I like him. I like him as a person and a player. Maybe this year, he gets more playing time and we can assess him a little more. But he’s a capable NHL player.”

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