The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Egor Chinakhov to a three-year contract, goaltender Arturs Silovs to a one-year contract, forward David Gustafsson to a one-year contract and goaltender Joel Blomqvist to a two-year contract, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Chinakhov’s contract runs through the 2028-29 season and carries an average annual value of $6.25 million. Silovs’ deal runs through the 2026-27 season and carries an average annual value of $2.8 million. Gustafsson’s one-year contract runs through the 2026-27 season and carries an average annual value of $850,000 at the NHL level. Blomqvist’s two-year deal runs through the 2027-28 season and carries an average annual value of $875,000 at the NHL level.
Chinakhov, 25, is coming off a career year where he set new highs in games played (72), goals (21), assists (21) and points (42) split between Columbus and Pittsburgh. After being acquired by Pittsburgh on December 29, Chinakhov tallied 36 points (18G-18A) in 43 games, and his goal and point totals both ranked third on the Penguins in that span. He also skated in six games in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 6-foot-1, 203-pound forward has played five seasons in the NHL, appearing in 247 career games and recorded 113 points (55G-58A) split between Pittsburgh and Columbus.
Prior to coming to North America, the native of Omsk, Russia played one season in the KHL, Russia’s top professional league, where he recorded 17 points (10G-7A) in 32 games with Avangard Omsk in 2020-21. For his efforts, he was named the league’s Rookie of the Year (Alexei Cherepanov Award) as a 19-year-old.
He’s also represented his country on the international stage at the 2021 World Junior Championship and 2019 World Under-18 Championship (silver medal).
Chinakhov was originally drafted by Columbus in the first round (21st overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Silovs, 25, played in 39 games in 2025-26 with Pittsburgh, going 19-12-8 with a 3.07 goals-against average and two shutouts. His 39 games played, 19 wins and two shutouts were all career highs. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he went 2-1 with a 1.52 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in three games.
The Riga, Latvia native represented his country at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games, going 1-2, helping his home country win their first game at the Olympics since 2014 after stopping 26 of 29 shots in a 4-3 win against Team Germany during round robin play.
The 6-foot-4, 208-pound goaltender has played in parts of four seasons in the NHL split between Pittsburgh and Vancouver, appearing in 58 games and going 27-20-10 with a 3.09 goals-against average and two shutouts. He’s also posted a 7-6 record with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 13 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
In parts of five AHL seasons with Abbotsford and Manitoba from 2020-25, the goaltender has played 110 games and compiled a 59-35-13 record with a 2.58 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and nine shutouts. Silovs led the Abbotsford Canucks to the 2025 Calder Cup Championship as Playoff MVP. On the team’s run to their first-ever Calder Cup, Silovs compiled a 16-7 record in 24 games with a 2.01 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. His five shutouts in the playoffs were one shy of the AHL all-time record in one playoff run, and he became just the fourth goaltender to be named the Playoff MVP.
In addition to the 2026 Olympic Games, the Latvian has represented his home country on several different occasions, including the World Championship (2023 & ’22) and the 2018 World Under-18 Championship.
Silovs was originally drafted in the sixth round (156th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by Vancouver.
Gustafsson spent the 2025-26 season with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, recording 10 goals, 22 assists, 32 points and was plus-12 in 48 games. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound forward’s 0.67 points-per-game average ranked first on the Moose while his 22 assists were third on the team. He also suited up for seven Calder Cup Playoff games, notching four points (1G-3A).
The 26-year-old has spent the last seven seasons in the Winnipeg Jets organization (2019-26), split between the Jets and the Moose. At the NHL level, Gustafsson has suited up for 149 career regular-season games where he’s accumulated 20 points (6G-14A). At the AHL level, he’s notched 91 points (34G-57A) in 136 career regular-season contests.
Gustafsson was drafted by Winnipeg in the second round (60th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Blomqvist, 24, completed his third season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League in 2025-26, compiling a record of 16-5-6 with a 2.40 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and one shutout in 26 games. His goals-against average ranked sixth in the AHL while his save percentage ranked seventh.
The goaltender has played in 15 career games in the NHL, all with Pittsburgh, posting a 4-9-1 record since his NHL debut during the 2024-25 season. In the AHL, Blomqvist has played in 91 career games, going 49-26-16 with a .916 save percentage, 2.38 goals-against average and three shutouts. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2023-24 after going 25-12-6 in his first full season in North America.
The Uusikaarlepyy, Finland native began his professional career with Kärpät in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, from 2021-23. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound goaltender went 14-9-13 in 45 career Liiga games with a .918 save percentage, 1.92 goals-against average and six shutouts.
Blomqvist was originally drafted in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft by Pittsburgh.
