Well, with the season officially, officially over with, it’s time to turn our attention to what promises to be a very interesting offseason.

There are so many questions facing this team, who finds itself in the same exact position they were in last year, mathematically eliminated with one game to go. As a result of their late season push, their first round pick does in fact go to San Jose, which could cause a wrinkle in the team’s plans.

But those plans overall are very cloudy. Is the main goal to still compete for a playoff spot? With Sidney Crosby around, the answer is probably yes. So how does that conflict with Kyle Dubas’ stated goal of getting younger?

However, before the team can make decisions on free agent signings and trades, the Penguins have to make decisions on their own expiring players.

Among players who at least made an appearance in an NHL game this season, the Penguins have six players set to become unrestricted free agents, and six players who will become restricted free agents. I’ll explore them one by one and give my take on who should stay, and who should walk.

(Jeff Carter is not included, due to his retirement announcement.)

Emil Bemström, RW/LW, RFA (Arb. Rights)

Season Stat Line: 24 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 PTS (stats reflect PIT only)

The man who was the center of this site’s Emil Bemström Six Goal Watch will become a restricted free agent this summer. The Penguins acquired him in a trade that sent Alex Nylander and a conditional sixth round pick to Columbus.

Bemström had a few flashes in Pittsburgh, but was largely invisible for big stretches this season as a Penguin. He was never advertised a big-time point producer, but he recorded points at a slower pace after the trade than when he was a Blue Jacket (11 in 32 games).

To be quite honest, I’m not sure he has a future here. He’s still pretty young (he’ll be 25 in June), and even with arbitration rights, he won’t be getting much of, if any more money than his $1.1 million. But if the Penguins want to do some serious reworking of their roster, and depth forward in particular, he could be someone I see the Penguins simply letting walk.

He does have arbitration rights as an RFA, but if the team opts to not even tender him, that’s all moot.

Jansen Harkins, LW, UFA

Season Stat Line: 44 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 PTS

Jansen Harkins…where do I begin? A waiver claim from the Winnipeg Jets right before the season started, Harkins stayed remarkably devoted to the idea of scoring zero goals all season.

No matter what happened, Harkins was not going to score! Ironically, the one time he did put the puck in the back of the net, it didn’t count for his stat sheet, because it was a shootout goal.

That’s not to say he wasn’t entirely ineffective, he would throw a hit or drop the gloves on occasion. But, in a bottom six that struggled to score all year, he was the worst of the bunch, and the coaching staff’s repeated decision to keep him in the lineup was puzzling.

Honestly, if Mike Sullivan is still the coach for next season, I could see him lobbying Dubas to keep Harkins; he clearly had a liking towards the player. Dubas, though, shouldn’t listen. Let Harkins walk.

P.O. Joseph, D, RFA (Arb. Rights)

Season Stat Line: 52 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS, -3

P.O. Joseph is a difficult player to decipher. The 24-year old defenseman was thrust into a top pairing role after Ryan Graves became unplayable in that spot in the lineup. Joseph had some gaffes, but those growing pains also allowed us to see glimpses of a solid defender there.

That’s the problem though: glimpses.

Joseph, the last remaining piece from the Phil Kessel trade with Arizona (who isn’t Arizona anymore), is an RFA with arbitration rights. I think he may be pretty low on Pittsburgh’s priority list, particularly as they work to revamp the D-core as a whole. I could see him getting a bit of a raise from his $825K, but not a major one.

Anything north of say, $1.5 million would become a little much. It’s also possible that his rights could be traded, maybe for a young winger who finds himself in a similar position to Joseph. See what he wants, but be open to replacing him next year.

Ryan Shea, D, UFA

Season Stat Line: 31 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT, +1

Ryan Shea has had a wild ride in the NHL this season. The 27 year old defender was signed to a one year, one way deal by Dubas in the offseason having been stuck in the AHL for all of his pro career. He impressed in training camp and made the NHL team to start the year.

Like any defenseman who is adjusting to the NHL, there were growing pains. He had a few really bad games in December, which resulted in the team waiving him. However, with injuries and illnesses plaguing the team late in the year, Shea was recalled and played admirably.

He wasn’t noticeable on the ice, which is exactly what you want out of a third pairing defenseman in his position.

In my mind, he’s for sure earned another contract here if he wants one. His expiring deal paid him $775K. I have to assume an extension is still in that ballpark, with only 31 NHL games to his name.

He’s someone I’d like to see more of next season in a depth role.

Alex Nedeljkovic, G, UFA

Season Stat Line: 38 GP, .902 Sv%, 2.97 GAA

This is the trickiest one, because it feeds into a larger question about the goaltending as a whole. What is the plan?

Tristan Jarry has four years left on a massive extension Dubas gave him last summer, but Jarry lost his job completely to Nedeljkovic down the stretch. The latter started the final 14 games of the season for the Penguins, including the team’s final game after already being eliminated.

Plus, Joel Blomqvist is looking NHL-ready next season.

Bottom line: it could all come down to price. After a season where his numbers weren’t the best, but he clearly led the team, how much money could he command?

He signed a one year, $1.5 million deal with the Penguins, half the value of his last contract in Detroit. With a weak goaltender free agency class, could Nedeljkovic seek to cash in?

If the price works for Pittsburgh, then what comes of Jarry? So many questions and words I can’t fit into this blurb. See what he wants, and start from there.

Sam Poulin, C/LW, RFA

Season Stat Line: 3 GP, 0 G, 0A, 0 PTS

For Sam Poulin, it was a season of limited opportunity at the NHL level. Despite a few call ups, he only got into 3 games for the Penguins, where he was held pointless.

Next season should, and I emphasize should, be his real chance at an NHL gig. He, along with a few other young pieces the Penguins have in the AHL, should be given opportunities to make an impact for the big club.

Since Poulin has no arbitration rights, his situation is pretty boring. He’ll sign something very similar to what he has now, in the hopes he gets a better chance at NHL success starting next year.

Jonathan Gruden, LW, RFA (Arb. Rights)

Season Stat Line: 13 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT

Though it was a smaller sample size of 13 games, it feels like we saw a lot of what Jonathan Gruden’s game at the NHL level was this season. It was’t bad, but it wasn’t necessarily exciting either. He’s a good checking forward who puts the puck on the net occasionally.

With his entry level contract expiring, I have little doubt that Dubas is going to give Gruden a very similar deal to his two way, $775K deal now.

I do anticipate he will be given a chance to compete for a depth role in training camp next season, which will be a rather important one for the 23-year old.

Valtteri Puustinen, RW/LW, RFA (Arb. Rights)

Season Stat Line: 52 GP, 5 G, 15 A, 20 PTS

The evolution of Valtteri Puustinen was fun to watch this season. A former seventh round pick by the Penguins, Puustinen broke through to the NHL scene this year, and his play makes me really excited for what his NHL future holds.

Though we didn’t get to see him score a lot, this kid has a wicked shot, and that low goal total is something I would definitely bet on improving with more experience. Despite that, he still found a way to tally 20 points in the show this year, and he definitely should be on the Penguins opening night roster next year.

As for a contract, he’s an RFA with arbitration rights. I could see Dubas giving him something in the neighborhood of $1 million, maybe a little more, and I think the team will try to give him a bridge type contract, for him to show this season was more than a flash in the pan.

Vinnie Hinostroza, RW/LW, UFA

Season Stat Line: 14 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS

I’ll admit, I was pretty excited when the Penguins signed Hinostroza last year. I thought he could be a sneaky good depth add for their bottom six, and I wrote as much last August.

It just didn’t really work out. The 30-year old forward spent last season up and down between the NHL and AHL, and this year, he spent much more time in the minors. He just didn’t stick in the Penguins roster.

He last game for the NHL Penguins came on New Years Eve, and now that he is a free agent, it’s probably in both parties’ best interest to move on. Hinostroza probably wants to go somewhere else to prove he still has some gas left in the tank, and the Penguins would probably rather give his AHL spot to someone younger.

Things happen, things don’t work out. It’s ok.

Radim Zohorna, LW/RW, UFA

Season Stat Line: 33 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 PTS

Big Z had a very up and down season with the Penguins this season. He had some flashes, but also some stretches where he was just a complete ghost on the ice.

As a result, he was often sent up and down from the NHL to the AHL and vice versa, finishing the year with a pretty equal split of games in both leagues.

I think Zohorna is capable of being a fourth line player in the NHL, but given some of the plans for a potential fourth line next season, I don’t see where he fits there. Maybe as a 13th forward he gets a home here, but I’m really not sure.

As much as I like Big Z’s game, I would let him walk this summer. I’m just not convinced he figures his way into their plans for next season, and his play wasn’t impressive enough to change course on that.

Jack St. Ivany, D, RFA (Arb. Rights)

Season Stat Line: 14 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, +0

Much like Ryan Shea, Jack St. Ivany played admirably in a situation that was not engineered to set him up for success. Unlike Shea however, St. Ivany latched onto a lineup spot and never let it go.

St. Ivany played 14 consecutive games for the Penguins down the stretch, providing the Penguins with some great depth on the blue line. He wasn’t that noticeable on the ice, which again, is exactly what you want from a depth defenseman.

He reminds me a lot of Chad Ruhwedel in terms of playing style; he just puts his head down, gets to work, and is usually sound in his own end. He has some really good senses and I was impressed by what I saw from him this season.

As for a contract, his entry level deal worth $857K is up, and I think the number stays around the same, except that contract is bumped up from a two way to a one way. In my mind, he earned the 6D spot for next season.

(Featured photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)