Penguins Wrap: Sullivan Gets New Roles; Player Signings Begin

Published

5 months ago

May 25, 2024

Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins’ offseason will continue for the better part of four more months, they are starting to make some moves that will affect their 2024-25 season.

Oh, sure, the headline events of the summer — the NHL Draft June 28-29 and the start of the free-agent signing period July 1 — are still to come, but a few players who could challenge for spots on the major-league roster in the fall already have signed new contracts.

And despite the Penguins’ failure to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second year in a row, three of their players still are competing as members of their national teams at the world championship tournament in Czechia.

Here’s a look at how the past seven days played out for the Pittsburgh Penguins:

Saturday

Rick Curran, a veteran player representative, says that Pittsburgh is an attractive landing spot for free agents, and lays out the reasons for it.

Mike Sullivan is selected to coach Team USA at the 2026 Olympics and the Four Nations Faceoff in 2025.

Sunday

Brayden Yager, the Penguins’ first-round draft choice in 2023, is having a strong season and could make a run at a job in the NHL this fall. (+)

Monday

Three former Penguins forwards who are free-agents-to-be merit consideration for a return.

Erik Karlsson has been piling up points for Sweden at the world championships in Czechia.

Tuesday

There are plenty of coaching jobs open with the NHL teams, including two with the Penguins — a replacement for Todd Reirden and the head coach of their farm team in Wilkes-Barre.

Defenseman Jack St. Ivany and forward Jonathan Gruden agree to multi-year contract extensions.

The Penguins sign free-agent defenseman Filip Kral, who was drafted by Toronto when Kyle Dubas was GM there.