The Pittsburgh Penguins are moving on from the Wheeling Nailers and shifting their ECHL affiliation to the Florida Everblades, ending a 29-year run with the West Virginia club.
The change had been expected since the Hoffmann Family of Companies took over and made clear where they wanted the Penguins’ ECHL home to be. At the group’s introductory press conference on June 25, chairman David Hoffmann didn’t leave much room for doubt.
“100%. They’d run me out of Naples if that didn’t happen,” Hoffmann quipped.
Thursday’s news did not come as a formal announcement from the Penguins so much as a farewell. General manager Kyle Dubas posted a sentimental message on behalf of the organization, thanking Wheeling and the Nailers for nearly three decades of partnership.
The Penguins said the relationship ended only because of “very unique circumstances,” and Dubas’ statement leaned hard into appreciation for what the Nailers have meant to the organization’s development pipeline. He credited the club’s work with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the player development staff for producing “countless players” who helped the Penguins.
The message also pointed to several names that came through Wheeling, including Stanley Cup champion Tom Kuhnhackl and younger players Avery Hayes and Sergei Murashov.
For Penguins fans, the Nailers had long been an easy and familiar bridge to the organization - a small ECHL franchise an hour away, a place to catch a weekend game, grab a $1 beer night, and watch prospects get their first taste of pro hockey. That connection is now gone.
The Penguins released the news just a couple of hours after unveiling their 2026-27 schedule, and the tone of the goodbye made the break feel as final as it was inevitable.
Dubas closed the organization’s statement with a direct thank-you to Brian Komorowski, the Nailers staff, the fans, and the Wheeling community, adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Wheeling.”
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