The Pittsburgh Penguins were extremely active in NHL Free Agency a year ago. New general manager Kyle Dubas made it clear he wanted this team to remain competitive. He had no reservations about giving big contracts to veterans, which he believed would make them a better hockey team. The only issue is that the Penguins didn't get much better.
In fact, you could argue they got worse. Pittsburgh missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs on 88 points. This is down from the 91 points they had when they narrowly missed in 2022-23. Pittsburgh was well out of the playoff hunt by the trade deadline, though they did make a run near the end of the season. In any event, the aggressive approach to NHL Free Agency simply didn't work.
This year, the Penguins were decidedly more reserved with their activity. But are they better now than they were at the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign? Let's take a look at their moves this summer and hand the Penguins our NHL Free Agency grades.
Penguins take on Kevin Hayes
One of Pittsburgh's more notable moves came on the trade front. The Penguins received Kevin Hayes in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. This marks the second time Hayes has been traded in a cap dump in as many offseasons. St. Louis acquired him in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, giving up a sixth-round pick to take on his contract.
Hayes struggled during his lone season in St. Louis. His ice time dropped from over 17 minutes in 2022-23 to around 14 and a half minutes in 2023-24. Furthermore, his offensive production dropped from 54 points in 2022-23 to 29 points in 2023-24. Hayes only missed three games this past season, as well.
There was one positive for Hayes this past season, though. He made major strides in the faceoff circle, which Pittsburgh certainly took note of. The new Penguins center finished 2023-24 with a 57% faceoff percentage, which represents a career high.
Pittsburgh targets depth on open market
In NHL Free Agency proper, the Penguins refrained from pursuing some of the bigger names. Instead, they targeted depth options that bring options down the lineup. Pittsburgh re-signed Emil Bemstrom, who they acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets last year. Bemstrom scored three goals and five points for Pittsburgh following the deal.
They also added depth forwards Blake Lizotte and Anthony Beauvillier. Beauvillier was traded twice last year and skated for the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Nashville Predators. Overall, he scored five goals and 17 points in 60 games. Lizotte, meanwhile spent his season with the Los Angeles Kings. He scored seven goals and 15 points for Los Angeles in the regular season.
Defensively, they added Matt Grzelcyk and Sebastian Aho. Grzelcyk joins the Penguins after experiencing some of his greatest career highlights in the city. He averaged around 17 and a half minutes for the Boston Bruins during the regular season. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he saw a small increase, averaging 18 minutes a night.
Aho — not to be confused with the Carolina Hurricanes forward with the same name — spent last year with the New York Islanders. He played just under 60 games during the 2023-24 season. The Finnish rearguard played mostly a bottom pairing role with the Islanders through his time on Long Island.
Grading Penguins in NHL Free Agency
The Penguins didn't repeat any of their mistakes from last summer. To that end, Pittsburgh did rather well. However, their offseason as a whole was still largely unremarkable. Pittsburgh did not get worse with any of the moves made. That said, they did not get noticeably better in the same vein.
Kevin Hayes was not acquired to improve the third-line. He was acquired because the Blues traded a second-round pick to convince Pittsburgh to take on his contract. That's not to say the veteran pivot couldn't bounce back. But as things stand, he will live on the third line while chipping in the odd goal and assist.
Beauvillier and Lizotte had down seasons for various reasons. They will skate on the bottom-six and allow Pittsburgh's prospects to develop in the minors. Overall, they are inexpensive depth options who could be moved at the NHL Trade Deadline if the Penguins aren't playoff contenders.
Grzelcyk is Pittsburgh's best signing at this time. He has extensive playoff experience and has shown the ability to keep up with the best defensemen on his team. He likely plays on the third pairing to start, but could move up the lineup in case of injury. Aho is likely Pittsburgh's seventh defenseman to begin the season.
The Penguins did not get worse, but again, they didn't exactly improve. These moves give them more options than they had a year ago. But the needle hasn't moved all that much. And it's unlikely these moves catapult Pittsburgh into contention in 2024-25.
GRADE: C
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