Penguins bring back Boko Imama on one-year contract

One year deal worth league minimum, but somehow a little more

Kyle Dubas had often repeated a willingness to re-sign forward Boko Imama, so it’s of little surprise when the news broke Friday afternoon that the team has done just that.

From the team:

The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Boko Imama to a one-year contract, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.

The contract will run through the 2025-26 campaign and carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.

Imama, 28, spent the 2024-25 season split between Pittsburgh and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. The 6-foot-1, 221-pound forward scored one goal in 16 games with Pittsburgh, and added three goals, two assists and five points in 24 games at the AHL level.

The Montreal, Quebec native has spent the past nine seasons (2017-25) splitting time between the NHL and AHL. Imama has appeared in 31 NHL games with Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Arizona, recording two goals. During his AHL tenure, he has played in 334 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Belleville, Tucson and Ontario, tallying 77 points (32G-45A).

Prior to turning professional, Imama spent five seasons (2012-17) in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Baie-Comeau and Saint John. During his time in Saint John he served as assistant captain for two years and helped lead them to a QMJHL Championship (2017). During 276 regular season games, he scored 123 points (71G-52A), and added 24 points (9G-15A) in 51 playoff games.

Imama was a hit in Pittsburgh this past season as a minor league call-up. He provided the team some energy, toughness and his positive attitude and spirit helped earn him the team’s nomination for the Masterton trophy. Imama appeared in 16 NHL games and 24 down with AHL Wilkes-Barre.

The good news for Imama is that the team’s interest in him also garnered him a premium salary. While Imama’s salary cap hit will be a league minimum $775,000 for time spent in the AHL, he’s getting a pretty generous guaranteed salary of $525,000 — regardless of whether he’s playing in the NHL or the minor leagues.

Imama got in two fights with Pittsburgh, and asked for about a million more scraps that opponents declined. They’ll have him back in the fold and ready to go again when the team needs that added boost or energy or a tough guy to protect them in 2025-26.