The Penguins kept working the blue line Wednesday, and their latest move came on the left side. After bringing in Trevor van Riemsdyk at noon to add more right-handed support, Pittsburgh shifted gears and signed Declan Carlile to a two-year, $3 million deal just after 1 p.m.
Carlile, 26, arrives as the kind of under-the-radar defender teams love to uncover. He entered the pro game as an undrafted free agent out of Merrimack College after Tampa Bay signed him, then carved out a reputation as a tough, dependable presence with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL.
His NHL sample remains small, but he has kept climbing. Carlile debuted in the second professional season of his career in 2023-24, appearing in one game for Tampa Bay.
He followed that with three NHL games the next year. This season, he split time between Tampa Bay and Syracuse and handled 42 games well enough to earn an invitation to Team USA for the World Championships, where he played.
The profile is built more on edge and reliability than offense. In those 42 games, Carlile posted three points, going 1-2-3, and picked up 40 penalty minutes.
At 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds, he brings a long reach and the kind of physical tools that fit an aggressive style. He keeps tight gaps and plays with bite.
The Penguins see a clear fit. Carlile matches the mold of Parker Wotherspoon, who was traded, and should get a real chance to work his way into the lineup.
Given the roster as it stands, he could even land top-pairing minutes next to Erik Karlsson. He’s also the first left-handed defenseman Pittsburgh has added this offseason.
In Other News...
So Many Familiar Penguins Names Just Vanished On Day 1
The first day of free agency had a distinctly familiar feel for Penguins followers, only the names were attached to other sweaters. Ian Cole landed with the Chicago Blackhawks, Noel Acciari went to the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan Shea headed to the Edmonton Oilers, while other former Pittsburgh players such as Teddy Blueger, Conor Sheary and Connor Clifton also found new homes across the league. It was the kind of opening-day churn that can make a roster tree look suddenly bare, especially when so many of the departures trace back to players who spent real time in Pittsburgh.
For the Penguins, the exodus is less about one headline move than the cumulative effect of seeing so many once-recognizable depth pieces and role players spread out so quickly. Some of those deals were modest, some carried more term, and a few send former Penguins back into familiar territory with new clubs. Either way, the first wave of free agency served as a reminder of how much turnover can hit in a matter of hours, leaving Pittsburgh with plenty of familiar names gone and a few more questions still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Lose Another Blue Line Depth Piece Fans Were Watching
The Penguins blue-line depth picture took another hit this week, with one of the organizational names fans had been tracking deciding to head back overseas. Alexander Alexeyev, a restricted free agent who spent last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, is moving on after a solid AHL stint that included three goals, 12 points and a plus-7 rating in 38 games.
His departure comes amid a broader wave of players leaving North America for the KHL, with Ivan Fedotov also signing a two-year deal with Spartak Moscow after his season split between the Flyers and Cleveland. For Pittsburgh, it is another reminder that the back end is still in flux, and one more depth option the club will have to replace as the offseason keeps unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Dubas Put Penguins Fans Right Back Into One Big Debate
Kyle Dubas spent the opening stretch of free agency and the trade market adding a little of everything to the Penguins' roster puzzle, and that is exactly why the reaction has been so split. Pittsburgh brought in Hendrix Lapierre, David Gustafsson, Kaeden Korczak and Nick Robertson via trade, then added Trevor van Riemsdyk, Declan Carlile, Andrei Kuzmenko and Atley Calvert in signings, giving the front office a busy week that touched nearly every part of the lineup.
The debate now is less about volume than fit, because some of these moves look like useful depth while others feel more like placeholders than upgrades. Robertson stands out as the one move that has drawn the warmest response, while Kuzmenko raises the biggest question about whether he simply occupies a spot a younger player could use, and whether the Penguins have really replaced the edge they lost when Wotherspoon and Clifton were out the door. [Read more 🡒]