Penguins Staying Disciplined As Free Agency Opens

During the NHL Draft, Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas spoke about Pittsburgh’s “brick-by-boring-brick” approach to the current landscape. They stuck to that over the next few days, through NHL free agency, which opened at noon on July 1.

“I think for us, we’re trying to stay disciplined in our approach,” said Jason Spezza, Penguins Assistant GM and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton GM. “I think we have a plan and obviously, there’s the veteran group and players that want us to keep pushing and continue to add players. We have to make sure we continue to have room for young guys to come in.

“For us, it’s making sure that we’re being really smart with what we’re doing at this point. I think we feel like we’re a strong team now and getting even stronger as we add players. But not really making long-term commitments to guys and doing things we regret in years’ past. Everything we do is thought out. Everything we do is with an eye on now but also the future, as well. That’s where we’re at with things.”

That doesn’t mean the Penguins are not in the mix when it comes to the big names and big trades. While right now is the busiest time of the offseason, the puck doesn’t drop until September.

“We’re always out there looking and in conversation for bigger things to happen, making sure that we have the ability to do that,” Spezza said. “But while we’re doing that, we’re not going to just sit around and wait. We’re going to try to continually upgrade the team and that’s what we feel like we’re doing.”

ADDITIONS, AS OF JULY 1

Over the weekend, Dubas spoke about Hendrix Lapierre and Oliver Okuliar joining the mix. Today, Spezza gave some insight into the notable acquisitions that have happened since then.

*Defenseman Kaedan Korczak acquired from Vegas for defenseman Parker Wotherspoon

Parker Wotherspoon was a great story. The Penguins pro scouting department, led by Andy Saucier, identified Wotherspoon as someone who could handle a bigger role. They signed him to a two-year deal and Wotherspoon turned out to be a nice fit, playing alongside Erik Karlsson all season and bringing a strong defensive presence.

Korczak, who is signed for three more seasons, is three years younger than Wotherspoon. The Penguins hope to help his game along, just like they did with Wotherspoon.

“We feel, with the age he's at, there's tons of upside there,” Spezza said. “He fits in really well with kind of that middle-aged group that we're really trying to acquire, and has tons of potential. Really solid defensively, and lots of untapped potential.”

*Forward Nick Robertson acquired from Toronto for a 2028 fourth-round pick

He is the younger brother of Jason Robertson, who is rumored to be on the move, with Pittsburgh being mentioned as a possible landing spot. “Jason's obviously a good player that lots of teams have interest in, and we're going to continue to investigate everything that's out there,” Spezza said.

He and Dubas have a lot of familiarity with Nick. Dubas was Toronto's GM when the Maple Leafs selected Nick in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Spezza then got to know Robertson from two perspectives, first, as his teammate during Nick’s brief stints at the NHL level in the 2020-21 and ’21-22 seasons. Then, as a member of management alongside Dubas in ’22-23.

“He’s guy I know well personally, the team knows well,” Spezza said. “He's a guy that brings a lot of energy, can score goals, just overall, a really good player.”

\*Defenseman Declan Carlile signed to a two-year contract

Tampa Bay signed Carlile as an undrafted free agent, and he has spent his entire five-year professional career with the Lightning, working his way up to the NHL level. Spezza said they have been tracking the 26-year-old for a while.

“He's steady stay-at-home defenseman, really good in his own end, really good on the penalty kill,” Spezza said. “Good hockey intelligence, really good stick... this year when (Tampa) went down with a lot of injuries, he was one of the guys who had to step up and really keep that afloat. That’s always impressive when young guys can come in, mid-parts of the season, and help a team stay in the playoff race. He did that, which gave us even more conviction why we feel that he can come and be an addition here for us. He can be a regular, helpful and we can get more out of him.”

Spezza said they felt like Carlile could replace Ryan Shea, who hit the market. When Spezza spoke, Shea had yet to sign anywhere. “Ryan’s a player that, obviously, we brought in here a few years ago, got a lot out of him,” Spezza said. “He went to market with hopes of cashing in long-term with a big ticket, as he deserves with the way that he’s played.” A short while later, Shea inked a five-year, $20-million contract.

*Forward Andrei Kuzmenko signed to a one-year contract

The 30-year-old recently completed his fourth season in the NHL, which have been split between Vancouver, Calgary, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. In his rookie season with Vancouver in 2022-23, Kuzmenko set career highs with 81 games played, 39 goals, 35 assists and 74 points. Obviously, the Penguins hope he can rediscover that level of goal scoring, and perhaps take a path similar to Anthony Mantha’s in that regard. But even if he doesn’t find that type of success, Spezza believes he’ll fit in well.

“I think his down-low play and his ability to play around the net fits into the style of play that we play,” Spezza said. “I think if you look at the skillset that he has, he can help our power play out in a few different spots.”

*Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk signed to a two-year contract

The big blueliner has played in 751 career games with Chicago, Carolina and Washington, winning a Stanley Cup Championship with the Blackhawks in 2015.

“He’s a guy that can play both sides, been around the league for a long time, 35 years old,” Spezza said. “A guy that I think fits in well with what we're trying to do.”

DEPARTURES, AS OF JULY 1

Goaltender Stuart Skinner (Winnipeg)

Forward Noel Acciari (Philadelphia)

Defensemen Ryan Shea (Edmonton)

Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (Vegas)

Defenseman Connor Clifton (Boston)

Defenseman Jack St. Ivany (Winnipeg)

IN SUMMARY

The most movement happened on the blue line. The Penguins are now pretty loaded with right-handed shots, as Kaedan Korczak and Trevor van Riemsdyk join a group headlined by Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. Meanwhile, the left side saw a couple of departures in Parker Wotherspoon and Ryan Shea, with Declan Carlile joining a group headlined by Sam Girard.

While Spezza knows having a perfect mix of left- and right-handed shots looks good on paper, the Penguins aren’t too concerned about that at the moment.

“We’re confident that our (defensive) corps is getting better,” Spezza said. “It’s a long time until the start of the season. But even with the guys we have, we have some versatility of guys who can play both sides. TvR has played on his offside quite a bit. We have other guys, Harrison Brunicke’s played on his offside. So, we have guys that can do it.

“We’ll work through the pairs. That’s Dan’s and the coaching staff’s job to really figure out who can really slide over, who can. Or if we need to add more left shots.