With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season coming to an end without any postseason action, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 52 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 second day of the NHL Draft on June 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Filip Kral
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 198 pounds
2023-24 Liiga statistics: 46 games, 37 points (five goals, 32 assists), 21:16 of average ice time per game
2023-24 Liiga postseason statistics: 17 games, eight points (one goal, seven assists), 23:17 of average ice time per game
Contract: Entering a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000. Pending restricted free agent in 2025.
Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, May 21, 2024
This season: A native of Czechia, Kral spent all of the 2023-24 season in Finland with the Lahti Pelicans of the Liiga.
But he’s not foreign to North American hockey.
In 2017, he moved to this continent and spent prolific three seasons at the junior level with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs, serving as an alternate captain in his final season with that club in 2019-20.
His success in Washington state led to him being selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round (No. 149 overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft (current Penguins’ president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas had recently been named Maple Leafs general manager for that draft.)
Joining the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, Kral spent three seasons with the Maple Leafs’ affiliate and enjoyed a brief cup of coffee at the NHL level in 2022-23, appearing in two games with no points.
Dubas was fired by the Maple Leafs in May of 2023 and replaced by Brad Treliving who declined to extend a qualifying offer to Kral, allowing him to transition from a restricted free agent to an unrestricted free agent with regard to his NHL status.
That led to Kral signing with the Pelicans on July 14, 2023.
Taking advantage of a wider ice surface than what is typically utilized in North America, Kral’s offensive game blossomed as he wound up fourth in the Liiga in scoring among defensem*n despite missing 14 regular season games.
???? Filip Kral lataa @PelicansFi:n takaisin johtoon! ????
Ryan Laschille samalla illan toinen ykkössyöttö. ????
???? @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga #PelicansFi pic.twitter.com/eHdhvbS2Ih
— Liiga (@smliiga) January 10, 2024
Primarily skating on the left side of the Pelicans’ second pairing, Kral helped the Pelicans finish in third place in the league. In the postseason, the Pelicans reached the championship final but lost the series to Tampereen Tappara, 4-1.
Kral was second among defensem*n in postseason scoring
The future: Things went as Kral planned them.
In an interview with the Pelicans’ website, he outlined his reasons for playing in Finland.
“I believe that I still have a chance to get an NHL contract in the future,” Kral said. “A good season in Europe can help to return there in a better role than before.”
Mission accomplished … so far.
He got his contract. As far as what his role will be, that will play out in September during training camp.
Most likely, he’ll open the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, and he might wind up being that team’s top defenseman out of the gates.
As far as any kind of role on the NHL roster, he’ll have to contend with a log jam on the left side of the blue line as the Penguins have the likes of Marcus Pettersson and Ryan Graves under contract while P.O Joseph will likely re-sign as a pending restricted free agent.
At best Kral, who turns 25 on Oct. 20, has a chance to claim a spot as a seventh defenseman. At worst, he’ll be one of the first players summoned from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the event of absences on the NHL roster.
Kral has a history with Dubas. And after a strong season in Finland, he has been given a second chance to make it in the NHL.
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.
