Penguins A to Z: Drake Caggiula had a career year in the AHL
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 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 mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Drake Caggiula
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Age: 28
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 176 pounds
2022-23 NHL statistics: Four games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)
2022-23 AHL statistics: 65 games, 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists)
Contract: Signed to a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $750,000. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, July 13, 2022
Last season: When the Penguins convened for training camp in September, there were three veterans on the roster who had never played a minute in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Drake Caggiula.
That changed for Caggiula, an undrafted journeyman who had suited up for four NHL teams before joining the Penguins. And while spending most of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was probably not his goal, just playing any kind of professional hockey in 2022-23 was a triumph for him after he had missed most of the 2021-22 campaign due to a herniated disc in his neck.
One of the final cuts from the NHL roster out of training camp, Caggiula didn’t find much production with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as he opened the season without a goal in his first eight games of the AHL season between Oct. 15 and Nov. 12.
(That stretch was broken up by a brief recall to the NHL roster that led to three games and no points between Oct. 24 and Oct. 28.)
Primarily deployed on either wing of one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top-two lines and the power play as well as the penalty kill, Caggiula was not particularly prolific in the first half of the season. To wit, he had nine goals in his first 41 games of the season.
Most of his damage was done during his last 24 contests of the 2022-23 campaign as he posted 13 goals over that span despite his team’s plummet to last place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.
In addition to his recall in October, Caggiula was summoned to the NHL roster two other times. After being a healthy scratch for two games following a recall on Dec. 28, Caggiula appeared in a game March 2 following a recall that same day.
The future: Caggiula is low on the to-do list for Penguins’ next general manager whenever that person is hired.
Even if he had not spent any time in the AHL before this season, Caggiula is a classic “4A” player who can put up big numbers at that level and also fill in holes on the NHL roster that are created by injuries or other absences.
Also, beyond the base tabulations, Caggiula, is a reliable veteran presence to provide an example to younger players on how to be a professional as evidenced by his station as an alternate captain with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.
But after having a career year at a level he has never played at before in his career, Caggiula could very well earn a better contract elsewhere than what the Penguins may want to offer him.