Where do Kyle Dubas and the Penguins stand after day one of free agency?
Day one of Free Agent Frenzy 2025 is in the books, and as general manager Kyle Dubas has said to the media when previously broached on the topic, he and the Pittsburgh Penguins kept a relatively low profile compared to teams like the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Rangers.
That’s not to say the Penguins didn’t change their roster, however. They very much did.
Defense
The Penguins added a left-handed, now-former Boston Bruins defenseman. No, his name is not Matt Grzelcyk. It’s Parker Wotherspoon.
Signed to a two-year deal, various models and advanced metrics describe the 27-year-old as a third-pairing blue liner who may be capable of playing in a slightly elevated role.
With Grzelcyk and P.O Joseph now on the open market, and the Penguins’ defensive depth rather lacking, one of Dubas’ first moves was to start shoring up the left side of the blue line.
The Penguins also signed defenseman Caleb Jones—younger brother of Stanley Cup champion Seth Jones—to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $900,000.
Jones fits the mold of a traditional seventh or eighth defender, who will likely see at least some time in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre Penguins.
Forwards
The one “external” forward the Penguins have signed thus far is Justin Brazeau, a 6-foot-6, 227-pound right-handed winger, to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $1.5 million.
The big boy also has previous ties to Kyle Dubas, and if we’ve learned anything about Dubas while in Pittsburgh, it’s that he loves players he’s had prior connections to either in Toronto with the Maple Leafs or his boyhood club, the Soo Greyhounds.
Brazeau fits the bill of a player who makes the Penguins “tougher to play against,” and will likely have a role carved out for him in the bottom-six.
The Penguins also took care of business by bringing back two players who played for the team last season: Philip Tomasino and Connor Dewar.
Neither player’s contract is more than a $1.8 million cap hit. Both players figure to complement a guy like Brazeau as the Penguins continue to house an ever-growing number of bottom-sixers to round out the forward group.
The Penguins have also been linked to forward Anthony Mantha, but no deal has materialized as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Goalies
Well, this one was a bit more interesting, eh? The Penguins also traded goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks for a 2028 third-round pick.
In trading away Nedeljkovic, fellow goaltender Joel Blomqvist, who made his NHL debut last season to mixed results, likely slots in as the backup to who I presume will be Tristan Jarry, barring an out-of-this-world trade that allows Pittsburgh the opportunity to rid themselves of Jarry’s contract.
A lineup…?
This is a frivolous activity because so much can change in the three months between now and the start of the season, but it’s easier to digest what the Penguins are working with when it’s laid out.
Rutger McGroarty—Sidney Crosby—Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak—Evgeni Malkin—Rickard Rakell
Ville Koivunen—Philip Tomasino—Anthony Mantha(?)
Justin Brazeau—Blake Lizotte—Connor Dewar
Kevin Hayes, Danton Heinen, Noel Acciari
Ryan Graves—Kris Letang
Ryan Shea—Erik Karlsson
Parker Wotherspoon—Connor Clifton
Owen Pickering, Caleb Jones, Vladislav Kolyachonok
Tristan Jarry
Joel Blomqvist
With all of Tuesday’s transactions in the books, the Penguins still own a whopping $18,205,237 in cap space, per PuckPedia.
This is not the final product you will see on the ice in mid-October. Players who are rumored to be on the move, like Erik Karlsson or Bryan Rust, remain with the Penguins as of July 2.
If Dubas’ transactions are any indication, though, we are once again in store for a bit of a youth movement while bringing along new faces that have the potential to be flipped for future assets by the 2026 trade deadline.