Will this RFA return for his first full season in Pittsburgh next fall?
Vitals
Player: Conor Timmins
Born: September 18, 1998 (age 26 season)
Height: 6’3
Weight: 213 pounds
Hometown: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Shoots: Right
Draft: Round 2, Pick 1 (No. 32 overall) of the 2017 NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche
Acquired: Deadline trade with Toronto Maple Leafs
2024-25 Statistics: 17 games played, one goal, six assists, seven total points with Penguins (68 games played, three goals, 12 assists, 15 points overall)
Contract Status: Timmins is hitting restricted free agency following the expiration of his previous two-year, $2.2 million deal.
Monthly Splits
Timmins played his first 51 games of the season for the Leafs. He was traded to the Penguins on March 7.
Story of the Season
Timmins arrived in Pittsburgh this March as part of a trade that also brought in Connor Dewar from the Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick.
The 26-year-old proved to be a reliable defensive presence in Pittsburgh, a valuable asset for a Penguins blue line suffering from the deadline departure of Marcus Pettersson.
Timmins was quickly elevated in the lineup, getting ice time alongside both Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. In March, head coach Mike Sullivan complimented his hockey IQ and decision-making.
“He has the ability to make plays when they’re there, but he doesn’t force plays. That’s one of the things that we really like about his game and he defends hard,” Sullivan said, per Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In April, Josh Getzoff asked general manager Kyle Dubas if the Pens plan on keeping Timmins. Dubas answered, “I think we certainly will.”
“We wanted to give him the runway to play, play a lot and show what he could do. I think he’s made the most of it, that’s really what we’re looking for. I think he’s showed potential to be someone that can grow with the group,” Dubas said.
Both Timmins and Dewar are restricted free agents. Dubas paid a relatively low cost for the opportunity either retain or flip both players next season.
Regular season 5v5 advanced stats
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 11 defensemen on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.
Corsi For%: 57.79 (1st)
Goals For%: 58.33 (1st)
xGF%: 13.76 (8th)
Scoring Chance%: 58.59 (1st)
High Danger Scoring Chance%: 51.92 (4th)
5v5 on-ice shooting%: 9.52 (3rd)
On-ice save%: 91.38 (3rd)
Goals/60: 0.22 (2nd)
Assist/60: 1.1 (1st)
Points/60: 0.44 (2nd)
Timmins’ stats should be read with a major caveat of a relatively small sample size; he played just 17 games with the Penguins this season. But these numbers showed that he overall had a positive impact on the Pens’ defense when he was on the ice.
Charts n’at
Via Advanced Hockey Stats and NHL Edge
Timmins overall had a positive impact on the Pens’ defense at both even strength and on the penalty kill.
Advanced Hockey Stats wasn’t impressed with Timmins’ work on zone entries or on the rush, but credits him with stopping the majority of opponent zone entries against him.
Timmins isn’t setting any speed records as a skater, but his 94.55 mile-per-hour top shot speed is impressive.
Highlights
Conor Timmins fires home with his first goal with the @penguins pic.twitter.com/Zc2TGORPF1
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 14, 2025
Questions to ponder
What is Timmins’ ceiling with the Penguins? Dubas said in April he believes the Pens are “just scratching the surface” of his potential. Given the Penguins’ thin defensive depth and Kris Letang’s uncertain health status heading into next season, Timmins could potentially see a spike in playing time if re-signed next season.
Ideal 2025-26
Ideal for the Penguins: sign Timmins to an affordable deal, and potentially flip him at the deadline. Ideal for Timmins: put together a career-best campaign in 2025-26 in order to earn a pay raise on his next deal.
Bottom line
Timmins was an affordable and effective addition in his limited time in Pittsburgh last season. He could play a larger role next fall if re-signed by Dubas.