With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from fourth-line center Noel Acciari to reserve winger Radim Zohorna.

This series is scheduled to be published every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)

Corey Andonovski

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Right

Age: 25

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 195 pounds

2022-23 AHL statistics: 63 games, 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists)

Contract: In the second year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $925,000. Pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

(Note: Andonovski is eligible for arbitration.)

Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, March 10, 2022

This season: During Ron Hextall’s brief and unappetizing as the Penguins general manager, he had a stated goal of being aggressive on the undrafted free agent market.

Given the relative lack of depth among the team’s prospect pool, Hextall’s motivation was clear in this regard.

That made Andonvoski something of a priority in the 2022 market for undrafted players and when the Penguins secured his services, that was seen as something of a victory for Hextall and company.

Two years later, the jury is out on whether or not Andonovski is a true future asset or not.

If nothing else, he certainly took a step forward during the 2023-24 season by setting career highs in games and points while primarily deployed as a middle-six winger.

While Andonovski did break new ground as far as his offensive figures were concerned, he did get off to a slow start with regards to goals, scoring only one – an empty netter – in his first 29 games of the season. His first goal against a goaltender came in a 4-3 road win against the Bridgeport Islanders on Jan. 13.

In addition to taking a step forward with his offensive production, Andonovski wound up being one of the Penguins’ more physical players as evidenced by his team-best 99 penalty minutes.

The bulk of Andonovski’s production came in the final two months of the regular season. Starting with a goal in a 6-1 road win in his home town against the Toronto Marlies, he managed to post 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in the last 25 games of the campaign.

The future: In an immediate sense, Andonovski is slated to open the postseason on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s third line in a first-round best-of-three series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday.

Looking more long-term, Andonovski is still something of a long shot to reach the NHL. While he was recalled to the NHL roster briefly in late October, that was a transaction intended briefly for the Penguins’ overall management for the salary cap.

While he can be safely viewed as a favorite of the Hextall regime, Andonovski is said to have impressed current management under president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas enough to merit serious consideration for a second contract as a pending restricted free agent.

He earned that with the second half of his second full professional season.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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