Breaking: Penguins work out last minute deal with Zach Aston-Reese.

It seems the Pittsburgh Penguins have gotten a deal on what has to have been the last possible second. 

Earlier today we reported that the Penguins and young forward Zachary Aston-Reese were scheduled to enter arbitration at 9:00 am this morning, but in spite of the fact that the report came after that time, it appears the Penguins and Aston-Reese avoided the hearing with a deal at the final deadline. According to a report from Penguins reporter Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now the two sides have settled their arbitration hearing in Toronto today by agreeing to a new multi-year contract. Kingerski reports that the two sides have agreed to a contract that will see Aston-Reese earn an average annual value of $1 million per season over the next 2 years of his NHL career. 

This appears to be good news for both sides and for similar reasons no less. First for the Penguins themselves they get the player a lower number than what he was asking for, and additionally they secure him for 2 years instead of the 1 year arbitration award he would have received had the arbitrator made the final decision. As for Aston-Reese although he likely gets a smaller dollar number on his contract that what he would have received on a 1 year contract, he does get an extra year of guaranteed security on his deal. For a player that was laid out in his rookie season with a broken jaw, the result of a monster hit from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, that has to feel like a huge relief. 

According to Kingerski's report sources close to the player stated that he "had a big smile" as he left today following the signing of his new NHL contract. The restricted free agent is coming off a 43 game regular season in 2018 - 2019 in which he recorded 8 goals and 9 assists for a total of 17 points. Aston-Reese saw a significant increase in his role following the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and it was obvious, based on the fact that this battle lasted as long as it did, that he was looking for a significant increase in salary moving forward.

Well he got it.

Editor's note: This article originally, and incorrectly, listed Aston-Reese's AAV at $2 million. That is the sum total of his contract and not the AVV, making the actual AAV $1 million per season.