PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A surprise on the Pens protected list as it was announced by the team today ahead of Wednesday's expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken.
29-year-old Brandon Tanev is unprotected as the Pens decided to protect 36-year-old center Jeff Carter along with Teddy Blueger. The 26-year-old Blueger protected after signing a two-year contract with the Pens last week. Because of Carter's age, it was widely thought Pens management would gamble on Seattle passing on the veteran. The earlier trade of Jared McCann also appeared to clear room for the team to keep Tanev.
Tanev's contract may be a deterrent. He's signed through the 2024-25 season at $3.5 million per year while only having a season career high of 29 points in six seasons. Tanev, 6', 180 pounds, known for his grit and relentless energy on the ice played in 32 games in 2021 with 16 points and was a plus 12 in plus/minus.
The other forwards the Pens protected-Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel and Kasperi Kapanen.
Teams could only protect three defensemen-Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang and Mike Matheson, leaving Marcus Pettersson, Cody Ceci and Mark Friedman exposed.
Pens protected goalie Tristan Jarry over Casey DeSmith.





