Labor Day weekend has a way of making the offseason feel like a blur, and the Penguins are right there with it. The players are back in town, skating at the practice rink, and training camp is expected to get underway in about 10 days.
Since the last time the team was on the ice, Pittsburgh’s summer has been busy in all the ways that matter: contracts, trades, front office moves, and a franchise-changing ownership switch.
The biggest early business came in May, when the Penguins locked up Evgeni Malkin on a one-year deal with a $5.5 million downside. Because it is a 35+ contract, the agreement includes performance bonuses.
Malkin can pick up an extra $250k for playing 42 games, another $250k at 63 games, $1.0 million if Pittsburgh reaches the 2027 NHL playoffs, and $250k for each round the Penguins win. The deal can reach as high as $9.0 million.
May also brought new contracts for Connor Dewar, who signed for two years at a $2.25 million AAV, and defenseman Ilya Solovyov, who came back on a one-year deal worth $850k. Around the organization, Wilkes-Barre kept rolling in the AHL playoffs by beating Hershey and Utica before reaching the Eastern Conference Final against Toronto, while Wheeling’s ECHL run ended.
June turned the calendar, but not the activity. Wilkes-Barre’s playoff push ended at the hands of the Toronto Marlies. Pittsburgh then added forward Oliver Okuliar from Florida in a deal that sent defenseman Emil Pieniniemi the other way, and the club brought in Ron Francis as a special advisor to hockey operations after his departure from the Seattle Kraken front office.
The month also delivered the most significant off-ice news of the summer: the NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the Penguins from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffman Family.
On the player side, the Penguins kept moving. They landed Hendrix Lapierre from Washington for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, then signed him to a two-year contract with a $1.3 million cap hit.
They also drafted Liam Ruck 22nd overall in the 2026 NHL draft and later took his twin brother Markus at No. 39.
Pittsburgh added Tomas Galvas, Pierce Mbuyi, Parker von Richter, and Matvei Nikonovich later in the draft as well.
More trades followed. David Gustafsson came over from Winnipeg for Jack St.
Ivany, and Kaeden Korczak arrived from Vegas in exchange for Parker Wotherspoon. Pittsburgh also retained the maximum 50% of Wotherspoon’s contract, leaving a $500k cap hit and using its first of three available retention slots for 2026-27.
July kept the pace moving. The Penguins acquired Nick Robertson from Toronto for a 2028 fourth-round pick, then watched a long list of 2025-26 players move on as unrestricted free agents: Noel Acciari to Philadelphia, Sebastian Aho to Vaxjo Lakers HC, Connor Clifton to Boston, Kevin Hayes to Ak Bars Kazan, Bokondji Imama to Florida, Joona Koppanen to Lulea HF, Anthony Mantha to New Jersey, Ryan Shea to Edmonton, and Stuart Skinner to Winnipeg. Rafael Harvey-Pinard was the only UFA to return, and he did so on an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Free agency also brought some familiar names and new faces into the fold. Trevor van Riemsdyk was first reported as a Penguins target and then officially signed to a two-year deal with a $4.0 million cap hit.
Declan Carlile followed on a two-year contract worth $1.5 million. Pittsburgh’s biggest external signing of the month was Andrei Kuzmenko, who joined on a one-year deal carrying a $5.5 million cap hit.
The club’s development camp wrapped up during the month, with Zam Plante and recently drafted Pierce Mbuyi standing out in 3v3 action.
There were more contract moves, too. The Penguins re-signed Egor Chinakhov to a three-year deal with a $6.25 million cap hit and goalie Arturs Silovs to a one-year contract worth $2.8 million.
Nick Robertson also avoided arbitration and agreed to a two-year contract with a $3.25 million cap hit. Tommy Novak was extended for three seasons, with his new deal set to begin in 2027-28 and carry a $4.65 million cap hit.
The front office got a shakeup as well. Vukie Mpofu, who had served as the Penguins’ director of hockey operations and legal affairs for the last three seasons, left to become an assistant general manager for the Nashville Predators.
Pittsburgh brought in Brandon Pridham, recently out of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, as a hockey operations consultant. Ron Francis was added earlier in the summer, giving Kyle Dubas another experienced voice in the room.
There was also a major shift on the affiliate side. The Penguins ended a 29-year relationship with Wheeling as their ECHL club and announced the Florida Everblades as the new affiliate. The Everblades are also owned by the Hoffman family.
Then came August, and the most surprising move of all: Ville Koivunen signed an eight-year contract with a $4.0 million cap hit.
One prospect also moved on. Cruz Lucius, acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade but unwilling to sign with Pittsburgh, was dealt to Anaheim for future considerations. He later signed an entry-level deal with the Ducks.
So no, it wasn’t the kind of summer that brought one giant splash or a full-blown roster overhaul. But it was active, and in plenty of different ways.
Malkin stayed. The ownership changed.
The ECHL affiliate changed. The Penguins added Kuzmenko, Robertson, van Riemsdyk, Carlile, Lapierre, and Korczak.
They also moved on from Wotherspoon, Acciari, Kevin Hayes, Clifton, Mantha, and Skinner, while getting younger in the process and still leaving room to promote from the AHL in goal.
Now the offseason work is mostly done. The players are back on the ice, camp is close, and it’s almost time for the puck to drop again.
In Other News...
Sidney Crosby Looms Over Penguins Camp For One Huge Reason
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All of that naturally keeps Sidney Crosby at the center of everything in Pittsburgh. The bigger question hanging over camp is whether Crosby will extend his contract before the season gets going or enter the year in the final season of his current deal, a possibility that would only add more intrigue to every camp session, every preseason shift and every bit of news coming out of the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Fans Will Have Strong Opinions On This Perfect Player Debate
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What makes the exercise more fun is how quickly it becomes a debate over which skill matters most, not just which player is best. Kris Letangs athleticism belongs in the mix, Egor Chinakhov supplies shot and finishing ability, and Elmer Soderblom offers the size piece that rounds out the build. Even without a final answer, the argument says plenty about how Penguins fans see the roster now: as a collection of distinct strengths, each one worth borrowing for a different part of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Move Is Already Bigger Than A Routine Prospect Extension
The Penguins eight-year deal for prospect Ville Koivunen has already started to ripple beyond Pittsburgh, because it was the kind of commitment that other teams notice when they are weighing how to handle their own young talent. A move that might have looked routine on the surface suddenly feels like part of a larger conversation around how much value clubs are willing to lock in early, and it comes with the added backdrop of a market that is shifting around the league.
Elsewhere, the Canucks signing of defenseman Zeev Buium fit right into that same wide-ranging evaluation of prospect value, while the Red Wings were said to have asked for a top-line center in trade discussions involving Dylan Larkin. The Islanders have also admitted they are in a transition phase, and the Bruins used the 2025 NHL Draft to grab James Hagens sixth overall, all of which makes the Koivunen contract look less like a standalone decision and more like one more sign of how aggressively teams are trying to shape their future now. [Read more 🡒]