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Filip Král Signs Three-Year Deal In Czechia

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Defenseman Filip Král’s return to North America was short-lived. The Penguins’ pending Group VI unrestricted free agent has opted to return home to Czechia on a three-year deal with HC Kometa Brno, the club announced.

The 25-year-old Král thus returns to the club where he’s spent the overwhelming majority of his European professional career. He played his youth hockey in Brno before opting to cross the Atlantic to play junior hockey with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs in the 2017-18 campaign. That decision helped him get drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fifth round the following summer. He played an additional pair of seasons in Spokane before turning pro with the Leafs, first on a loan back to Brno at the beginning of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season before reporting to their AHL affiliate.

Král spent parts of three years in the NHL and AHL with Toronto, including making his NHL debut in a pair of contests in October 2022. That was it for the 6’2″ lefty, though. After injuries limited him to six points in 24 AHL games in the 2022-23 campaign, the Leafs didn’t tender a qualifying offer when his entry-level contract expired and he became an unrestricted free agent. With no NHL offers, he spent 2023-24 in Finland with the Pelicans of the top-level Liiga. It was a prudent decision for Král, who put himself back on NHL clubs’ radars with a 37-point, +28 campaign in 46 games en route to being named a Liiga All-Star.

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, who made Král part of his first draft class at the helm of the Maple Leafs six years ago, brought him back on a two-way deal last summer. He didn’t make the team out of camp, though, and didn’t get a call-up until the final days of the season after clearing waivers in October. That call-up didn’t result in an appearance, so he finished the regular season with a 7-22–29 scoring line and a -16 rating in 61 showings for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Without a clear path to the NHL next season, it’s not surprising to see Král opt for a more familiar environment in his home country. He has 6-17–23 with a +16 rating in 75 previous Extraliga games with Brno.

Sidney Crosby Joins Team Canada, Nathan MacKinnon May As Well

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“Captain Canada” has joined Team Canada for the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championship. Sidney Crosby will join the team for the first time since 2015, per a Pittsburgh Penguins release.

Fresh off a victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, Crosby will look to guide his home country to another victory in Europe. Crosby joins his general manager Kyle Dubas for the tournament, which is set to begin this upcoming week. This represents the third time Crosby will compete in IIHF Championships, and the first since captaining Canada to a 2015 victory. This will mark the ninth time Crosby, 37, has suited up for Canada in international play, and if it’s possible, his international résumé is every bit as impressive as his legendary NHL career. He has won gold medals at the Olympics (and scored the iconic “Golden Goal” in the 2010 games), the World Cup of Hockey (2016), the World Championship (2015), and the World Junior Championship (2005).

Crosby’s decision to join Team Canada for the tournament likely stems, at least in part, from the Penguins missing the playoffs again this season. After a career defined by deep postseason runs, the chance to play meaningful hockey well into May is surely appealing to the future Hall of Famer. Crosby’s addition makes him the oldest member of the team by nearly four years, with Ryan O’Reilly as the secondly oldest member of the team.

Crosby’s good friend and fellow Nova Scotia native Nathan MacKinnon may be joining the squad as well, after his Colorado Avalanche were eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Stars. TSN insider Darren Dreger is reporting that there is a “decent chance” MacKinnon joins Team Canada for the tournament. Like Crosby, MacKinnon is no stranger to deep playoff runs, but with an early first-round exit this year, he may seize an opportunity that’s rarely available to him.

Marc-André Fleury Announces Retirement

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The last goaltender selected with the first overall pick has officially hung up his skates. As expected after his farewell tour, the NHL Alumni Association announced that Marc-André Fleury has retired from the NHL after 21 seasons.

Fleury’s career began on October 10, 2003, on a rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins’ team, losing to the Los Angeles Kings. He wouldn’t have to wait long for his first win, as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings a few days later on October 18th.

It wouldn’t be Fleury’s win against Detroit either. Although they lost in a hotly contested 2008 Stanley Cup Final, the Penguins won a year later. Thanks to a game-saving win against Nicklas Lidstrom in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, Fleury backstopped Pittsburgh to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1992.

Although the Penguins had successful seasons, it took a few years for them to return to the Stanley Cup Final. When they finally made it back, Fleury had moved into a backup role, while Matt Murray took over as the starting goaltender. Murray helped lead the Penguins to consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017.

This was largely the end of Fleury’s tenure in Pittsburgh. The team left Fleury exposed in that summer’s expansion draft, again in favor of Murray, leaving the upstart Vegas Golden Knights to select him.

Fleury, with an impressive record of 29 wins, 13 losses, and 4 overtime losses, along with a .927 save percentage in 46 games, helped the Golden Knights not only reach the playoffs but also advance to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year.. Unfortunately, Vegas couldn’t capitalize on their Cinderella run, it was a clear resurgence in Fleury’s career.

He experienced several more successful years with Vegas before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in late summer 2021. ’Flower’ only spent one year with the Original Six organization before being traded to the Minnesota Wild at the subsequent trade deadline.

Finally, Fleury’s career ended last night at the hands of the Golden Knights. He finished his career with a 575-339-97 record in 1,051 career games with a .912 SV% and 2.6o GAA. He won the Vezina Trophy along with the William M. Jennings Trophy in 2020-21 and currently sits second all-time in goalie win leaders, besting Patrick Roy by 24 wins and falling short of Martin Brodeur by 116.

Ed Van Impe Passes Away

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Former NHL defenseman Ed Van Impe, who played in the league from 1966 to 1977, has passed away at age 84, according to a statement from the Flyers.

Undrafted, Van Impe spent six years playing minor professional hockey with the WHL-Sr.’s Calgary Stampeders and the AHL’s Buffalo Bisons before earning his first NHL contract with the Blackhawks (then the Black Hawks) at age 26. The hard-hitting 5’10”, 205-lb lefty impressed as a rookie, finishing second in Calder Trophy voting in the final season of the Original Six era with an 8-11–19 scoring line, a +29 rating, and a team-leading 111 PIMs in 61 games.

Van Impe was drafted by the Flyers in the expansion draft the following offseason, marking the beginning of where he spent the vast majority of his career. The Saskatchewan native appeared in 620 regular-season games for the Flyers over the next nine seasons, posting 19 goals, 107 assists, 126 points, and a +68 rating with 891 PIMs. He was part of the team’s back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 1974 and 1975, posting seven points and a +18 rating in 34 games across the two championship runs.

A three-time All-Star Game participant, Van Impe spent the final season and a half of his NHL career with the cross-state rival Penguins following a 1976 trade deadline deal. He finished his NHL career with 27 goals, 126 assists, 153 points, and a +99 rating in 703 games. Even today, he’s still fourth on the Flyers’ all-time list of games played among defensemen.

All of us at PHR send our condolences to Van Impe’s friends and family and the Flyers organization.

Harrison Brunicke May Start Next Year In AHL

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Before he was brought into the Penguins organization to be the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2015-16, and before he served as the Canucks assistant coach and Blackhawks development coach, Sullivan served as the Rangers assistant coach from 2009-2013.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • In his offseason series regarding Pittsburgh Penguins’ players, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review took a look at prospect Harrison Brunicke’s developmental status. As one of the team’s higher-end prospects, Brunicke competed for a spot on the Penguins opening night lineup before the 2024-25 campaign started. Unfortunately, due to a wrist injury that limited him to 10 games for the AHL Penguins, Rorabaugh believes Brunicke is likely another year away from becoming a full-timer in Pittsburgh.

Penguins Re-Sign Filip Hallander To Two-Year Deal

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9:50 a.m.: The Penguins have confirmed Hallander’s two-year contract.

7:56 a.m.: After spurning his qualifying offer in 2023 to return home to Sweden, Filip Hallander has signed a two-year deal with the Penguins beginning next season, according to PuckPedia. It’s a one-way pact for the league minimum of $775K each season for a total value of $1.55MM.

So begins the 24-year-old center’s third stint in the Pittsburgh organization. Selected in the second round (No. 58 overall) of the 2018 draft, Hallander signed his entry-level contract shortly thereafter but spent his two slide years and the first year of the contract on loan to Timrå IK and Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League. During that time, he was traded to the Maple Leafs in August 2020 as part of the deal for Kasperi Kapanen. Still, he was reacquired the following summer when Toronto acquired Jared McCann from Pittsburgh, only to lose him to the Kraken in the expansion draft.

After the second trade, Hallander’s overseas loans ended. He played the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons stateside, suiting up mostly for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but still seeing a trio of NHL games across the two campaigns. He didn’t record a point or a shot attempt but averaged 8:36 per game, recording three blocks and one hit. He put up a 25-36–61 scoring line in 104 AHL games across two seasons with a plus-four rating, including 33 points in only 43 games in 2022-23.

That was enough for the Penguins to want to keep Hallander, but the feeling wasn’t mutual at the time. Instead of signing a new deal with Pittsburgh upon expiry of his entry-level contract in 2023, he returned to Timrå, where he played his youth hockey, on a five-year commitment with an NHL out-clause. The Penguins still issued him a qualifying offer by the June 30 deadline despite Hallander signing the deal in April, retaining his exclusive NHL signing rights through 2027 as a result.

That decision paid dividends. Hallander was just named the Swedish Forward of the Year after a dominant campaign for Timrå, finishing second in the SHL with 26 goals and 53 points in 51 games. He was one of just two players to exceed the point-per-game mark this season at 1.04, trailing only newly signed Oilers forward David Tomasek’s 1.21.

A one-way deal indicates the Penguins expect Hallander to seriously compete for an opening-night roster spot next fall. If he’s sent to the minors without much assurance of a call-up, though, expect Hallander to pursue a mutual contract termination (of course, if he’s not claimed on waivers and gets an NHL opportunity elsewhere). With only 10 other forwards signed to one-way deals for next year, though, there’s a clear path to a roster spot out of the gate. Hallander, who turns 25 in June, will be an unrestricted free agent when his new deal expires in 2027.

Speculation Ramping Up On What Sidney Crosby May Think About Coaching Change

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With Mike Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins agreeing to part ways, reporters at general manager Kyle Dubas’ press conference today asked several questions related to Sidney Crosby’s involvement in the process. At one point during the conference, tensions appeared to rise slightly when Dubas was asked if Crosby was happy with the change. Dubas immediately responded that he wouldn’t speak on behalf of the team’s long-time captain.

Penguins, Mike Sullivan Part Ways

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The Penguins are moving on from head coach Mike Sullivan, per a team announcement.

“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” said president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus, and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization.”

It’s not a true firing – rather, a mutual decision for Sullivan to pursue another opportunity and for Pittsburgh to find a new identity behind the bench in the twilight of their core’s careers. Sullivan had two years left on a three-year extension. It’s unclear whether the Penguins will still pay him the money owed on that deal.

“A thorough search for the next head coach of the Penguins will begin immediately,” the team said. The Pens join the Blackhawks, Bruins, Ducks, Flyers, Kraken, and Rangers as teams with active vacancies at head coach.

It was another underwhelming 2024-25 season for Sullivan and the Penguins, who continued their slide down the standings and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. With a 34-36-12 record, Pittsburgh finished under .500 for the first time since going 22-46-14 in Crosby’s rookie season in 2005-06.

Sullivan has been the Pens’ bench boss for essentially the latter half of the Crosby-Malkin-Letang trifecta era. Promoted from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton midway through the 2015-16 season after Pittsburgh fired Mike Johnston, he immediately led the team to back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017. But after beating the Flyers in the first round in 2018, Sullivan’s Penguins have yet to win a playoff series.

The 57-year-old was the second-longest tenured head coach in the league behind the Lightning’s Jon Cooper. His illustrious Pittsburgh era concludes with a 409-255-89 record (.602) in 753 regular-season games, holding the franchise wins record by a considerable margin over Dan Bylsma (252). Including his two-year tenure behind the Bruins’ bench in 2003-04 and 2005-06, Sullivan’s 479 career wins as head coach rank 32nd in NHL history. Since Sullivan assumed his duties in Pittsburgh on Dec. 12, 2015, the Pens rank eighth in the league in points percentage.

While Pittsburgh has significantly overhauled its depth ranks over the past few seasons, the vast majority of its core remains in place outside of Jake Guentzel, whom they traded to the Hurricanes at last year’s deadline. This is a more unexpected major change – Dubas told Wes Crosby of NHL.com last week he was expecting Sullivan back behind the bench for 2025-26. Perhaps today’s news is more at Sullivan’s request than the team’s.

Sullivan will be a person of interest in every active head coaching search. The Rangers have pursued him aggressively in the past, especially before he signed his extension in 2022. There’s no firm enough reporting yet to call them a frontrunner, but with Peter Laviolette out the door and Chris Drury still in his post as general manager, it’s nearly a given they’ll be among the most well-equipped teams to land his services.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Karlsson's Bonus Payout In July Could Create Trade Value This Summer

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Erik Karlsson’s tenure with Pittsburgh has been a bit underwhelming, to say the least.  While he has eclipsed 50 points in each of his first two years, his totals pale in comparison to the 101 he had in 2022-23 with San Jose.  In a recent 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mused that once Karlsson’s signing bonus gets paid (July 1st is the payment date for most but not all), the 34-year-old will be more of a realistic trade target.  At that point, he’ll be down to just $11.5MM in cash owed over the final two years of the contract, a chunk of which the Sharks will be picking up.  If the Penguins are willing to retain further, they might find a relatively decent trade market for his services, especially among some of the lower-spending teams who might find extra value in having an AAV higher than cash owed.

Eastern Conference Notes: Martin, Puljujarvi, Lukashevich

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The New York Rangers have opted to sign general manager Chris Drury to a multi-year extension even after a convoluted and disappointing campaign. That decision could leave assistant general manager Ryan Martin open to finding a promotion elsewhere this summer, and maybe even a move to the New York Islanders, per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.

Martin has served as the general manager of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack for the last four seasons, in addition to his assistant role with the Rangers. He’s an experienced professional in the hockey world, set to reach his 20th season in an NHL front office next season. The bulk of that time was spent in the Detroit Red Wings organization, where Martin began his career as the Director of Hockey Administration in 2005. He served in that role for five seasons before a promotion to assistant general manager in 2010.

The Red Wings added AHL general manager to his title two years later. Martin led the Grand Rapids Griffins to an AHL championship in his first year at the helm in 2012-13, then won again with a new head coach in 2016-17. The Griffins made the postseason in seven out of eight years under Martin, and missed back-to-back playoffs after he left in 2020-21.

Martin continued his strong streak in Hartford. After only making the playoffs once in the prior seven years, the Wolf Pack have made two of a possible four postseason appearances under Martin’s reign – missing in his first season with the club (2021-22) and this season. That’s a dazzling record for a seasoned executive, and could be exactly what some NHL teams  consistently on the fringe of the postseason – like the Islanders – are looking for in their next managerial hire.

Other notes from out East:

  • The Florida Panthers have recalled forward Jesse Puljujarvi but plan to soon send him back down, per Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post. Guy shares that Puljujarvi will serve his two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mitchell Chafee, before returning to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for their Calder Cup Playoff run. Puljujarvi received the suspension after Florida’s final game of the regular season. He only played in five games on the Panthers roster this year, with one goal and 15 penalty minutes to show for it. Puljujarvi has been far better in the minors, with 13 points in 22 games with Charlotte and a combined 16 points in 26 games on the full season. Puljujarvi began the season in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
  • Sticking in Florida, 2021 fourth-round pick Vladislav Lukashevich has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal per NHL.com’s Mark Divver. Lukashevich is expected to transfer to Miami University per Divver and sources available to Pro Hockey Rumors. In Miami, Ohio –  Lukashevich will reunite with former USHL head coach Anthony Noreen. Lukashevich scored seven points in 29 games with Michigan State University this season, while serving in a bottom-pair role. A move to a smaller school should offer a path to more opportunity and, hopefully, more scoring.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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