Eastern Conference off-season recap: Pittsburgh Penguins

For the third consecutive season, the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the post-season in 2024-25.

It looks as if the Penguins’ chances of making the post-season are long gone, much less contending for a Stanley Cup. This is the sad cycle of contendership in hockey, and who knows how Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang will finish their careers.

Let’s take a look at how the Penguins’ 2024-25 season went, what they did over the off-season, and how the team shapes up heading into 2025-26.

How the season went

The Penguins became the first National Hockey League team since the 21st century to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, defeating the San Jose Sharks in 2016 and the Nashville Predators in 2017.

Since then, it’s been a steady decline for the Penguins. In the 2018 post-season, they beat the Philadelphia Flyers, but the Washington Capitals finally got the upper-hand of the Penguins in the second round. The next season saw them be swept by the New York Islanders, followed by losing in the qualifying round of the 2020 postseason. In 2021, the Penguins lost once again to the Islanders in 2021, followed by a defeat in Game 7 to the New York Rangers.

In 2022-23, they missed out on the playoffs on the final day, finishing with a 40-31-11 record. The Penguins dropped to a 38-32-12 record in 2023-24, before finishing with a 34-36-12 record in 2024-25. It was the first time the Penguins finished with a record below .500 since Crosby’s rookie season in 2005-06.

Before the trade deadline, the Penguins traded a 2028 fifth to the San Jose Sharks for Vincent Desharnais. Their biggest move came the same day, trading Michael Bunting and a pick to the Predators for Luke Schenn and Thomas Novak. Schenn was later flipped to the Winnipeg Jets for two picks, and the Penguins sent Anthony Beauvillier to the Capitals for a 2025 second-round pick.

Other moves saw them trade Cody Glass to the New Jersey Devils, as well as acquiring Connor Dewar and Conor Timmins from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a pick.

In the end, the Penguins finished 12 games out of a post-season spot.

Drafted players

The Penguins had a whole lot of draft picks, 13 to be exact. With the 11th overall pick, they selected Benjamin Kindel, followed by Bill Zonnon 22nd overall and Will Horcoff 24th overall.

In the second round, they selected defenceman Peyton Kettles and used their three third-round picks to draft defenceman Charlie Trethewey, netminder Gabriel D’Aigle, and defenceman Brady Peddle.

The Penguins only had one fourth-round pick, using it to select winger Travis Hayes. With their three fifth-round picks, the Penguins drafted winger Ryan Miller, defenceman Quinn Beauchesne, and winger Jordan Charron.

Their final two picks saw them draft forwards Carter Sanderson and Kale Dach.

Trades

The Penguins were wheeling and dealing around the draft. They acquired the 22nd and 31st overall picks from the Flyers in exchange for the 12th overall pick. They then sent the 31st overall pick and the 59th overall pick to the Los Angeles Kings for the 24th overall pick.

On the second day of the draft, they sent Timmins and Isaac Belliveau to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Conor Clifton and a 2025 second-round pick. Before the end of the draft, they traded down, moving the 85th overall pick to the Vegas Golden Knights for the 91st and 154th overall picks.

On Canada Day, the Penguins shipped Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks for a 2028 third-round pick. Just over a week later, the Penguins sent Vladislav Kolyachonok to the Dallas Stars for Matt Dumba and a 2028 second-round pick.

Their most recent trade was on Jul. 13, moving Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth to the Vancouver Canucks for Artūrs Šilovs.

Free agent signings

There weren’t a whole lot of signings on the free agent front. The Penguins’ most notable move saw them sign Justin Brazeau to a two-year, $1.5 million deal annually. Former Calgary Flame Anthony Mantha signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million annually. Parker Wotherspoon signed a two-year deal worth $1 million annually.

Other depth signings saw the Penguins bring in Connor Dwar, Caleb Jones, Philip Kemp, and Alexander Alexeyev. The Penguins signed Dan Muse, a first-time NHL coach.

Departures

The Penguins saw a handful of departures as well. Nedeljkovic was traded to San Jose, while P.O. Joseph signed a one-year contract with the Canucks, while Matt Grzelcyk and Matt Nieto remain as free agents.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26

So, how do the Penguins look heading into 2025-26? Down the middle, they have Crosby, Malkin, Novak, and Blake Lizotte. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell are their best wingers, while they also have Ville Koivunen, Mantha, Rutger McGroarty, Philip Tomasino, Dewar, and Brazeau are the rest of their wingers.

Letan and Erik Karlsson are the Penguins’ best defenders, with Owen Pickering, Ryan Graves, Wotherspoon, and Dumba. In net, the Penguins have Tristan Jarry and Šilovs.