(Photo by Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports)

With all of the (rightful) buzz about Erik Karlsson coming to Pittsburgh, it’s sometimes hard to remember that Karlsson isn’t the only player new in town. 

Rem Pitlick, coming over from Montreal in the three-team Karlsson trade, could be a very intriguing depth addition for the Penguins. 

He doesn’t have a ton of NHL experience, but at 26 years of age, he has plenty of time to take his career to the next level. 

Originally a third round pick by the Nashville Predators in 2016, Pitlick has bounced around a lot for someone of just 123 NHL games. 

He played just 11 games for Nashville, spread over two seasons, before he was placed on waivers by the Predators in October of 2021. 

Seeing potential in him, the Minnesota Wild claimed him off waivers. In Minnesota, Pitlick really started to hit his stride. 

Pitlick scored his first three career NHL goals in a hat-trick performance. Even more impressive, it was a natural hat trick, scoring the first three goals of the game in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken. 

However, his run with the Wild was incredibly short. In all, he played just 20 games for Minnesota, tallying 6 goals and 5 assists, before he found himself once again on waivers. 

Much like the Wild, the Montreal Canadiens saw potential, and given what he had just accomplished in his brief Wild run, the Canadiens were excited to have him. 

He finished out the 2021-22 campaign in Montreal, where he put up 9 goals and 17 assists in 46 games on a very bad Canadiens team. 

After a harsh start to this past season, 2022-23, Pitlick was once again on waivers, but this time went unclaimed, being sent down to the Laval Rocket. He tore it up in the AHL, recording 22 points in 18 AHL games, and found his way back to the Canadiens. 

In total, he played 46 games in Montreal, tallying 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points. 

Now finding himself in Pittsburgh, he’ll be competing for a roster spot with fellow depth additions like Andreas Johnsson, Vinnie Hinostroza, and Matt Nieto. 

Pitlick has very good finishing stats, which should not be a surprise when you see some of his impressive one-timer goals, like these ones here and here. He also has some decent speed, being able to use that to circle around defenseman and get in tight to the net. 

His speed can also be seen here in this clip, where he outraces the Boston goalie (who is well out of his net) and collects the loose puck, before comically passing the puck while inches away from the empty net to Michael Pezzetta, who scored. 

This season will also be a contract year for the Ottawa native, serving as more motivation to have a standout year in Pittsburgh and earn himself a bigger deal. 

He has a real chance to be a good bottom/middle six forward for the Penguins, and with an open spot alongside Sidney Crosby to start the year, it’s even possible that Pitlick, a good finisher, could take that spot and thrive.