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Photo of Valtteri Puustinen

Valtteri Puustinen

#48 · Right wing · Free agent, last with the Pittsburgh Penguins

Born Jun 4, 1999 in Kuopio, FIN · 5'11", 180 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 203rd overall in 2019 by PIT (round 7)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2024-25. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Austin Watson DET · 3 P in 13 GP Fabian Lysell BOS · 3 P in 12 GP Kailer Yamamoto UTA · 3 P in 12 GP Marc McLaughlin NJD · 3 P in 14 GP Cam Lund SJS · 3 P in 11 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

051015202021-22: 1 points121-222023-24: 20 points2023-242024-25: 3 points324-25

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2021-22 PIT 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 1.00 $843K
2023-24 PIT 52 5 15 20 4 6 86 40 0.38 $775K
2024-25 PIT 13 2 1 3 -4 4 8 10 0.23 $775K
3 seasons Career 66 7 17 24 2 10 95 51 0.36

2024-25 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
13 2 1 3 -4 4 8 10 0.23 25.0 9:54

Contract

$775KCap hitends in 2026, then UFA
$258KCap dollars per point3 points in 13 games
$1.591MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.5 goals above replacement

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up.

The contract

Signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 10, 2024, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $1.55M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2025-26, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2024-25 $775K $775K $0 $775K
2025-26 $775K $775K $0 $775K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
May 10, 2024 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $1.55M $775K
Jun 20, 2023 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $775K $775K
May 6, 2021 Pittsburgh Penguins Entry-level 2021-22 to 2022-23 2 $1.85M $843K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2024-25 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2024-25 analytics

Rating

+0.5Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.1Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.8Even-strength defence+0.8Power play+0.3Penalty kill0.0Penalties-0.2

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked.

02462021-222023-242024-25Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

45.5Corsi for %90 attempts for, 108 against
-7.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.3Expected goals for %4.0 expected for, 3.6 against
+2.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
43.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
25.0Goals for %2 for, 6 against
94.3PDO4.7% shooting + 89.7% saves
10Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Lars Eller · Valtteri Puustinen · Drew O'Connor419:1065.654.20-0
Anthony Beauvillier · Blake Lizotte · Valtteri Puustinen314:2240.980.81-1
Kevin Hayes · Connor Dewar · Valtteri Puustinen29:4822.217.20-0
Kevin Hayes · Noel Acciari · Valtteri Puustinen28:0831.334.50-1

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.4Expected goalsfrom 11 unblocked attempts
+0.6Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.65 expected goals per 60 minutes32nd
Shot quality 12.7% chance per attempt99th
Finishing +0.6 goals above expected60thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 428 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Goals 2Expected 1.4

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 17, 2025 vs WSH W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 09:31
Apr 13, 2025 vs BOS L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 08:12
Apr 11, 2025 @ NJD W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 12:00
Nov 15, 2024 @ CBJ L 2-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 09:33
Nov 13, 2024 vs DET L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 08:33
Nov 11, 2024 vs DAL L 1-7 0 1 1 -1 0 1 1 11:09
Nov 8, 2024 @ WSH W 4-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 07:30
Nov 7, 2024 @ CAR L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09:16
Nov 2, 2024 vs MTL W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 10:08
Oct 31, 2024 vs ANA W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12:45
Oct 29, 2024 vs MIN L 3-5 1 0 1 -1 0 1 0 11:50
Oct 26, 2024 @ VAN L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 08:15
Oct 20, 2024 @ WPG L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 09:54