Briefly free agents, Dewar and Tomasino returns Pittsburgh
Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino became an unrestricted free agents when the Pittsburgh Penguins decided not to give them a qualifying offer, but they didn’t stay away long. A few hours into free agency the team announced that both players have been signed to a one-year contracts in the very same press release.
The Penguins have signed Philip Tomasino and Connor Dewar to one-year contracts.
Both contracts run through the 2025.26 season, with Tomasino’s contract carrying an AAV of $1.75 million and Dewar’s contract carrying an AAV of $1.1 million.
Details: https://t.co/21gxsCEXwS pic.twitter.com/TnU5uwzlFy
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 1, 2025
Kyle Dubas said yesterday that he was in talks with Dewar, Tomasino and their respective representatives we ongoing but wanted to sign the forwards for a certain number. It appeared the player wasn’t amenable to that figure yesterday but after dipping a toe into free agency, both the players and the team decided to come to an agreement to bring them back Pittsburgh.
Dewar, 26, scored four goals and added three assists in 17 games with the Pens last season after a trade from Toronto sent him to Pittsburgh. Tomasino, 23, scored 23 points (11G+12A) in 50 games with the Pens after an early-season trade from Nashville.
Both young players figure to add depth to the team in 2025-26 now that they’re back. The Pens have a glut of roster forwards and could stand to look to move on from names like Noel Acciari, Danton Heinen or even Kevin Hayes in the trade market if they can find any interested takers for their veterans.
The Pens have had a quiet free agency period before this announcement, signing only defenseman Parker Wotherspoon so far.