Sidney Crosby Extends Consecutive Point-Per-Game Seasons Record
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby extended his NHL record for consecutive point-per-game seasons with a goal and a pair of assists in Sunday’s 5-2 win over Florida. He’s now at 72 points on the year; he can play a maximum of 70 games after missing 12 over the past several weeks with an MCL sprain and a subsequently unrelated lower-body issue. That gives him 21 seasons in a row above a point per game, two clear of Wayne Gretzky‘s previous record of 19. Crosby has never finished at or below a point per game in his career. The closest he ever got was a Cup-winning season for the Penguins in 2015-16, when his 36-49–85 scoring line in 80 games worked out to a career-low 1.06 mark. Among players with at least 750 career appearances, Crosby’s 1.24 points per game sits eighth all-time and third among active players behind Connor McDavid‘s 1.53 and Nikita Kucherov‘s 1.28.
Penguins’ Stuart Skinner Out With Upper-Body Injury
The Penguins announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled winger Avery Hayes from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and goaltender Taylor Gauthier from ECHL Wheeling. Gauthier is dressing as Arturs Silovs‘ backup this afternoon against the Panthers, as Stuart Skinner is unable to dress because of an upper-body injury.
Skinner was healthy enough to dress as Silovs’ backup in a scheduled start for the latter yesterday, so it’s unclear what’s causing him to have to stay off the ice today. That’ll also mean back-to-back starts for Silovs in under 24 hours against Florida after he allowed four goals on 23 shots yesterday. Luckily, he got nine goals’ worth of support from Pittsburgh’s offense to record his 18th win of the season.
For whatever reason, the Penguins weren’t going to be able to get either of their highly-touted AHL netminders, Sergey Murashov or Joel Blomqvist, to Pittsburgh in time for today’s 2:00 p.m. Central puck drop. It’ll be Gauthier, the #5 on Pittsburgh’s goaltending depth chart, getting the bump for now as a result. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports that the Pens will recall Murashov later in the week if Skinner needs to miss multiple games, though.
Gauthier, 25, initially signed with the Pens as an undrafted free agent out of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks back in 2022. They opted not to issue him a qualifying offer when his entry-level contract expired last summer, but he returned to the organization on a one-year minor-league contract anyway. The ECHL’s Goalie of the Year back in 2023-24, he’s had another spectacular season in Wheeling with a .932 SV%, 2.00 GAA, three shutouts, and a 20-7-5 record in 33 games. That was enough to earn him a two-way deal from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, making him eligible to join the club as an emergency backup option for the playoffs.
As the Penguins continue to jockey for playoff positioning in the Metropolitan Division, they’ll have to do so without Skinner for now. He had been emerging as their likely Game 1 starter. Head coach Dan Muse had been quite strict in a nightly rotation with Skinner and Silovs since the former’s acquisition from the Oilers in December, but Skinner had started four out of five leading into yesterday’s win over Florida and was expected to make it five of seven today.
Skinner’s .886 SV% and 11-8-5 record in 24 games since his acquisition aren’t much to write home about, but he’s been steadily improving while Silovs has hit a rough patch. Over each netminder’s last 10 games, Skinner has saved 1.4 goals above expected while Silovs has a gnarly -6.4 GSAx, per MoneyPuck.
The Penguins have all but clinched a playoff spot, entering today’s schedule with a 99.2% chance at a postseason berth. There’s now a five-point gap between them and the Islanders for second place in the Metro, with the Pens having five games left and New York having four.
As for Hayes, he was technically rostered for yesterday’s game as well as a scratch, so this morning’s announcement is overdue. He was just sent down to WBS on Friday but played for them that night, making him eligible to come back up to the NHL roster right away. He didn’t draw into the lineup for today’s game either but now has three goals through his first 13 NHL games, all this season.
Ryan Shea Aiming For Extension With Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the more impressive teams of the 2025-26 season, currently in a strong position as the No. 2 team in the Metropolitan Division, a real bounce-back from last season, when they finished in seventh place.
First-year head coach Dan Muse has rightfully gotten a significant amount of credit for the Penguins’ rapid turnaround, but there have also been individual players who have fueled the team’s reversal in fortunes. One player whose emergence has greatly aided the Penguins has been defenseman Ryan Shea, who now finds himself a pending unrestricted free agent.
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe spoke to Shea about his expiring contract, and Shea was candid about his future, saying “I’m a UFA this summer, and it’s not like I don’t know that, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of setting myself up.”
According to Yohe, Shea is “team-oriented,” and the reporter noted that the player’s focus is singularly on getting the chance to play playoff hockey for the first time in his NHL career.
But when it comes to his future, Shea’s priority isn’t testing free agency and securing a bidding war between other clubs for his services.
He has made it clear he wants to remain a Penguin, telling Yohe: “I absolutely want to be in Pittsburgh moving forward, I want to be here. This is the only organization that gave me a shot. I’m a loyal guy.” Shea added that his expectation is his contract will be dealt with after the season ends, in the summer.
Per Yohe, negotiations on a new contract have not yet taken place between the Penguins’ hockey operations department and Shea’s representatives. Shea is a client of Win Hockey Agency’s Matt Keator.
As Shea himself indicated, his breakout performance in the NHL has positioned him very well entering free agency. Shea’s rise has been so notable that we even covered his case for a hefty pay raise in January.
Shea has signed three successive one-year deals with the Penguins, his first a one-way pact valued at $775K. Shea’s second deal in Pittsburgh was a two-way contract, despite the fact that he played in a then-career-high 31 NHL games in 2023-24. That deal carried a $425K AHL salary and $450K guarantee along with the standard league-minimum $775K NHL salary. Shea’s third deal in Pittsburgh, the contract he’s currently playing on, is a one-year, $900K contract.
Shea has done enough to easily surpass that value on his next deal. AFP Analytics projects Shea’s next contract at three years, $3.43MM AAV. At face value, that seems like a fair number for the role Shea has played, serving as a hefty pay raise while also not breaking the bank by any means.
Shea has been the Penguins’ No. 6 defenseman in terms of average time on ice per game this season, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, as that includes mid-season additions Brett Kulak and Samuel Girard. Among Penguins blueliners who have played over 25 games for the team, Shea ranks No. 4 in average time on ice per game with 18:46. He ranks No. 2 in time on ice per game on the penalty kill, playing 2:14 there per game, which places him just a shade behind Parker Wotherspoon.
It’s clear that Shea has not only earned the trust of Muse, but also his teammates. He’s been a valuable defensive presence, an insulator for the Penguins defensemen who possess more natural offensive talent. Connor Clifton, Shea’s current partner on the team’s third pairing, said of Shea “I don’t really think that people understand how good this guy is,” and “he does everything well, there aren’t any weaknesses there.” Muse also spoke to Shea’s value to the Penguins’ lineup, telling Yohe: “you see the key defensive situations that he’s put in, five-on-five and on the penalty kill.”
With the expiration of his contract looming, Shea looks set to reach a new level of compensation, one commensurate with the on-ice value he’s established. His qualities as an NHL player are no longer a mystery, and neither is his desire to remain in Pittsburgh. All that is left to figure out, for both Shea’s representatives and the Penguins themselves, is the exact price tag it’ll take to get a deal on an extension formally completed.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Penguins Assign Harrison Brunicke To AHL
Penguins defenseman Harrison Brunicke was a pleasant surprise heading into this season as he secured a roster spot with the big club despite still being a junior-aged player. He was eventually sent back to the WHL with a full-time assignment to the minors not an allowable option. Now that Brunicke’s junior team has been eliminated, that’s no longer the case and today, the Penguins announced (Twitter link) that they’ve reassigned the blueliner to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The 19-year-old has played in nine games with Pittsburgh this season, picking up a goal along with 13 blocked shots in 15:43 per night of ice time, certainly respectable numbers for a rookie. They sat him for an extended stretch to allow for an AHL conditioning stint where Brunicke was productive, picking up four assists in five games. He was recalled in early December and was immediately loaned to Canada’s World Junior team.
In that tournament, Brunicke didn’t stand out in the way that NHL defensemen often do. He notched two assists in seven games and averaged 16:07 per night, fifth among Canada’s blueliners. Pressed with a decision after the tournament to either recall Brunicke or send him back to junior, the Penguins opted for the latter.
Brunicke suited up in 24 regular season games for WHL Kamloops in the second half of the season, notching two goals and 22 assists, his first point-per-game junior campaign. But with the Blazers being swept in the opening round of the playoffs, he became eligible for reassignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where it’s likely that he’ll play a regular role down the stretch. He remains eligible for recall to Pittsburgh as well but with his next game officially starting his contract, it’s unlikely that he’ll see more NHL action until next season.
Penguins’ Caleb Jones Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Done For Season
Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones hasn’t played an NHL game since Oct. 23. He won’t be getting back into the lineup again this season, as the Pens announced Friday he underwent shoulder surgery back on March 18. There’s a four-to-six-month recovery timeline attached, which may stretch a bit into next season’s training camp on the long end but shouldn’t take him out of any regular-season action in 2026-27.
Barring a trade or contract termination, Jones will be back in Pittsburgh next season. He joined the Pens on a two-year, $1.8MM deal last summer that will pay him $1MM in actual salary in 2026-27.
The 28-year-old will compete for a roster spot next year, having played just 13 NHL games over the last two seasons. He spent 2024-25 on a two-way deal with the Kings that saw him play mostly in the AHL, only getting six games in L.A. across a few call-ups throughout the year. He saw seven games with the Pens to open this year as a #6/7 option but sustained a lower-body injury that ended up costing him nearly three months of game time. He was assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning stint and suited up once for them on Jan. 14, sustaining what would eventually be his season-ending shoulder injury that night.
Jones was then suspended for 20 games in early February for violating the NHL’s rules regarding performance-enhancing substances. He wasn’t healthy enough to play anyway, so it didn’t matter much. Jones finished serving that suspension earlier this week but still won’t be an option as Pittsburgh heads toward its first playoff berth since 2022.
Jones didn’t look out of place at all in his small sample at the beginning of the season. He had one assist and a +1 rating while averaging 17:10 of ice time per game, blocking a career-high 2.14 shots per game. His under-the-hood numbers weren’t great – Pittsburgh only controlled 41.4% of shot attempts with Jones on the ice at 5-on-5 – but he was starting his shifts in the defensive zone two-thirds of the time. He skated primarily on the third pairing with since-demoted rookie Harrison Brunicke, with that unit controlling a promising 54.3% of expected goals, according to MoneyPuck.
Still, it’s hard to see Jones playing a significant NHL role next year. The team’s midseason pickup of Samuel Girard pushed him further down the left-side depth chart. If the Pens can manage to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Ryan Shea, Jones will likely enter camp as the #5 lefty on the depth chart at best behind Girard, Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, and Ryan Graves. That’s not even considering the competition that group could face from 2022 first-rounder Owen Pickering.
Penguins Reassign Avery Hayes
As injured players return to the lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins are better positioned to trim down their forward corps as they finish off the regular season. To that end, the Penguins announced that they’ve reassigned forward Avery Hayes to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Hayes, 23, has been an oft-called-upon forward for the Penguins for the last few months. Beginning with his first recall on February 5th, Hayes has been recalled an additional four times. The Penguins have been dealing with a few minor injuries to their forward corps, making Hayes a quick fill-in when needed.
He’s played relatively well in his opportunities. Throughout his five call-ups, Hayes has scored three goals in 13 games with a -4 rating, averaging 10:38 of ice time per game. Additionally, he’s landed 20 shots on goal and 16 hits, making him a solid plug-and-play player in the bottom-six.
Still, there are a few flaws in his game, which aren’t unexpected from a young winger, that will need to be worked out if he hopes to be on the roster more consistently next year. Granted, it’s a small sample size, but his work in the possession and defensive game has been lackluster throughout his handful of appearances.
Regardless, it should be considered a successful year for Hayes. The Penguins signed him as an undrafted free agent from the OHL’s Peterborough Petes a few years ago, and he’s played particularly well for the WBS Penguins. This season, he has nearly achieved a point-per-game scoring line, registering 22 goals and 35 points in 39 games with a +8 rating. He’s almost matched last year’s totals (23 goals and 42 points) in nearly 20 fewer games.
Cruz Lucius Won’t Sign With Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be signing one of their better collegiate prospects. According to a report from DK Pittsburgh Sports, forward Cruz Lucius has notified the Penguins that he won’t sign his entry-level contract with the team, and will become a collegiate free agent later this summer on August 15th.
Lucius, 21, recently finished his senior season at Arizona State University. He was originally drafted 124th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2022 NHL Draft, before having his signing rights traded to the Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade.
The Lawrence, KS native burst onto the scene in his freshman season, scoring 11 goals and 34 points in 34 games, then at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his collegiate career with the Badgers the following season, scoring 13 goals and 34 points in 36 games in a nearly identical stat line.
Moving to the transfer portal, Lucius landed with the Sun Devils. His junior season was unfortunately affected by injuries, resulting in two goals and 10 points across 19 games. Back to full health this year, Lucius had his best personal campaign, scoring 15 goals and 46 points in 36 games, finishing 11th in the nation in scoring, just one point behind James Hagens of Boston College.
In the report from DK Pittsburgh, they included a quote from the Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, saying, “(Lucius and his agent) informed us that that he was not going to be signing in Pittsburgh for a few reasons that’s up to him to share. It’s a personal thing for him. We felt we had a great opportunity for him, and the proof is in the pudding on the development side, but players are entitled to make their decision, and I don’t think we’re at the position here anymore where we have to beg people to come.”
Now, Lucius will spend the next few months choosing where his next landing spot will be. He should get decent interest from around the league, as teams wouldn’t lose much outside of a roster spot by offering him an opportunity. Fortunately, Lucius is seeking a new organization after a successful conclusion to his collegiate career.
Assessing The Best Free Agent Signings From Summer 2025
As we move into the final month of the season, it has become quite clear which moves from last summer paid off and which ones did not. While long-term effects of summer trades and signings are always part of the picture, it’s interesting to look back and assess the best free-agent signings to see which teams got value for their money and which did not.
Players don’t always succeed immediately with their new teams; sometimes there’s a settling-in period. However, many moves made last summer in free agency have significantly impacted playoff races this year.
For this exercise, we will focus specifically on players who were unrestricted free agents and moved to new teams. This excludes players like Brad Marchand or John Tavares, who re-signed with their respective teams before July 1.
The first player that comes to mind is the Penguins’ top goal scorer, Anthony Mantha, who signed a one-year, $2.5MM contract (plus $2MM in performance bonuses) with the Penguins after missing most of last season with the Flames due to an ACL tear. Many believed that Mantha would have a chance to improve his free-agent stock in Pittsburgh by playing top-six minutes before cashing in during the summer of 2026.
Last summer, the Penguins seemed like a team that would be selling at the trade deadline, so it made sense that they would give Mantha a one-year deal and then trade him for future assets in February or March. However, that outlook couldn’t have been further from the truth, as Mantha has become a key part of a Pittsburgh team that has surprised the NHL this season and remains competitive in the Eastern Conference. With 30 goals and 28 assists in 75 games, Mantha has provided considerable surplus value to the Penguins and is likely to secure a major contract this summer, particularly among one of the thinnest free-agent fields in the salary cap era.
Last year, much of the talk during free agency was that the goaltending market was incredibly thin, and on paper, it certainly looked that way. But that didn’t stop the Buffalo Sabres from exploring the free agency waters, signing Alex Lyon to a two-year, $3MM contract that has proven to be an absolute steal.
Lyon has split duties with his goalie partner, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and has appeared in 35 games this season, posting a record of 20-9-4 with a 2.69 GAA and a .909 SV%. While those stats are solid, the standout figure in Lyon’s line is his goals saved above expected, which currently sits at 14.8 (according to MoneyPuck). Lyon won’t be winning any awards this year, but considering how much money teams are spending on ineffective goaltending, Lyon has been a real boon for Buffalo.
Sticking with the goalies, another underrated signing that has paid off is Daniel Vladař of the Philadelphia Flyers. The 28-year-old was mainly a backup before this season but has become the Flyers’ starting goaltender, dressing in 45 games while posting a 24-13-7 record, a 2.50 GAA, and a .904 SV%.
Vladař has been excellent value on a two-year deal with a $3.35MM AAV. Not only is Vladař’s save percentage above average, but his goals saved above expected is up to 9.6, suggesting that his underlying numbers indicate a goaltender who has stolen some games for Philadelphia.
A signing that didn’t happen until the fall was forward Jack Roslovic, who again had to accept an under-market one-year deal. Roslovic signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Oilers on Oct. 8 after his second straight unsuccessful free agency run, where he failed to secure a multi-year deal that suited him.
In Edmonton, the 29-year-old has already achieved his second straight 20-goal season and has been a reliable playmaker for the Oilers. Given his consistent production over the past two seasons, it’s unlikely he’s willing to settle for another one-year deal, especially in a tight free agent market.
Moving to the backend, veteran Brent Burns was a free agent for the first time in his career at age 40. Burns signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche that included a potential $4MM in bonuses, of which he will likely earn $3MM this season.
Burns is no longer an elite offensive defenseman, but he has still scored 10 goals and 19 assists in 73 games this year while playing in every game and averaging almost 19 minutes per game. Burns has benefited from playing on a top team and from a high PDO, but for a veteran right-shot defenseman or a bargain one-year deal, he’s worked out as well as the Avs could have hoped for.
Finally, we return to the Penguins and the skillful work of general manager Kyle Dubas accomplished in the early days of free agency last year. Not only did Dubas sign 30-goal scorer Mantha, but he also secured Justin Brazeau with a two-year deal worth just $3MM, as well as defenseman Parker Wotherspoon on a two-year, $2MM deal. The contracts gave Dubas a top-nine forward in Brazeau and a top-pairing defenseman to play alongside Erik Karlsson, all at a total cost of $2.5MM per season for this year and the next.
Dubas and Penguins Director of Player Personnel Wes Clark did excellent work last summer, finding players with lots of potential who hadn’t been given the chance to succeed. By betting on low-risk, high-upside free agents, Dubas effectively accelerated the Penguins’ retooling plans, which seemed unlikely just a year ago, when the team had missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Earlier this season, there was talk that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby should request a trade because he might not make the playoffs again. However, thanks to Dubas’s bargain shopping, the Penguins now seem to be on track for the playoffs and have plenty of cap space this summer to strengthen their already impressive lineup.
Bryan Rust Out Due To Injury
Bryan Rust of the Penguins is out tonight against Detroit with a lower-body injury, shared by the team right before puck drop. It’s unexpected considering that he played a full game last night against the Islanders, putting up two points. In his place, Avery Hayes comes into a game with both the Penguins and Red Wings desperate to pick up two points with playoff spots up for grabs.
Penguins Reassign Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty
The Penguins reassigned wingers Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton following last night’s win over the Islanders, per the AHL’s transactions log. Neither dressed for that game but were listed as scratches.
Koivunen and McGroarty, viewed as the #5 and #3 prospects in the Pens’ system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, now must suit up at least once for the Baby Pens before being eligible for a recall again. Both their most recent summons were quite short. Koivunen has been on and off the roster a couple of times this month, but McGroarty was recalled last Saturday for the first time since the Olympic break.
There’s been a roster move out of Pittsburgh virtually every day as of late as they navigate some injuries, but they’ll do some trimming today ahead of their second half of a back-to-back against the Red Wings, in part because they got Sidney Crosby back in the lineup against the Isles after he missed a game with a lower-body injury. The pair of demotions leaves veteran Kevin Hayes, who hasn’t suited up since March 3, as the lone healthy extra.
Both Koivunen and McGroarty entered the lineup for Saturday’s loss to the Stars before sitting out last night. While both are enjoying exceptional minor-league campaigns, they haven’t been able to make the NHL impact that Pittsburgh surely hoped for entering the season. Both were held off the scoresheet against Dallas, bringing Koivunen’s pointless streak to six games with a 2-5–7 scoring line in 36 NHL appearances this year on the whole. McGroarty, who turned 22 yesterday, hasn’t been any better with a 2-3–5 line in 21 outings.
Their stocks may have dipped slightly from the beginning of the season as a result, but it’s still impossible to ignore that both have produced above a point per game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year. Koivunen’s 11-22–33 scoring line is good for fifth on the team despite only playing in 29 games, while McGroarty has tossed up seven goals and 26 points in 25 games.
With the Pens’ NHL group healthier, the pair of 20-somethings will get some added development time down the stretch before being playoff options for Pittsburgh if need be. Their playoff chances jumped to 83.9% after last night’s trouncing of the Islanders, per MoneyPuck.