The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Oliver Okuliar from the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman Emil Pieniniemi, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Okuliar is currently an unsigned restricted free agent.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward spent the 2025-26 campaign with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) where he appeared in 46 games, recording 15 goals, 14 assists and 29 points and was plus-17, helping them to the league’s best regular-season record. In the playoffs, Okuliar finished tied for first in the SHL in goals (6) and was second overall in points (13) in 15 postseason games en route to a SHL Championship.
This year, the Trencin, Slovakia native also represented his home country at the 2026 Olympic Games, recording two points (1G-1A) in six games, as well as the 2026 World Championship where he tied for third in scoring on Slovakia with five points (2G-3A) in seven games. He has previously suited up for Team Slovakia at the 2023 World Championship, 2020 World Junior Championship and 2018 World Under-18 Championship.
Okuliar, 26, has also enjoyed stints in the American Hockey League (2024-25), the Czech Extraliga (2022-24), Finland’s Liiga (2021-22) as well as Slovakia’s Extraliga (2020-21). While in North America with the Charlotte Checkers in 2024-25, Okuliar notched 41 points (19G-22A) in 69 regular-season games and tacked on eight points (4G-4A) in 18 Calder Cup Playoff games.
