Even if the news doesn’t come as a surprise, the Pittsburgh Penguins officially terminated the longest-standing ECHL affiliation in the NHL.
On Thursday, the Penguins announced that they ended their 29-year affiliation with the Wheeling Nailers and subsequently named the Florida Everblades as their new ECHL squad. The news comes a few weeks after the Penguins sale to the Hoffmann Family of Companies became official, when they publicly shared their intention to switch the affiliation to their already-owned franchise in the Everblades.
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The Nailers are now without an NHL parent club, while the Everblades were not affiliated with an NHL team at the time of the switch.
End Of An Era: 29 Year Affiliation Has Ended With The Wheeling Nailers
End Of An Era: 29 Year Affiliation Has Ended With The Wheeling Nailers A shifting ownership landscape severs the longest active NHL-ECHL partnership, ending a historic developmental pipeline that fueled Pittsburgh’s championship legacy and defined hockey identity in West Virginia.
Wheeling first became the affiliate of the Penguins in 1996, and since then, it helped develop multiple NHL players as well as several top prospects, including goaltender Sergei Murashov, defenseman Finn Harding, and forwards Avery Hayes and Atley Calvert currently. Pittsburgh has long-considered its ECHL affiliate to be a developmental league, and that has only become more true under the current front office regime under president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas.
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But, despite the developmental angle, Wheeling’s proximity to Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (the organization’s AHL affiliate), and the relatively small but cult following Wheeling has, the Hoffmann family made it clear from the jump that Florida was always the endgame.
“100 percent,” David Hoffman said of their intention to make the Everblades the ECHL affiliate during the family’s introductory press conference on Jun. 25. “I think they would run me out of Naples if they’re not. We already have people wearing Penguins’ jerseys at our games, so I think there’s a high expectation level that’s going to happen. We want to do that.”
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The Everblades have been a highly successful ECHL franchise in recent years, as they have won four of the past five Kelly Cup championships, including the 2026 title over the Kansas City Mavericks. They have won more Kelly Cup Championships than any team in ECHL history with five.
Any player in the Penguins’ organization signed to an NHL or an AHL contract can now be assigned to the ECHL affiliate in Florida, if eligible as far as contract terms. Any player signed to ECHL agreements will remain with their current club, meaning any ECHL-signed Penguins’ prospect will remain in Wheeling.
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