It’s a new month, and June is a big one on the hockey calendar. The Stanley Cup gets awarded, teams gear up for the draft, some trades and player movement happens as the league looks toward the big day on free agency on July 1st.
Checking back in with last month’s list got a few items off the list:
Step 1: The Wilkes-Barre playoff run
Still ongoing, WBS had Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals last night.
Step 2: Find out draft position
The Penguins stick with 22nd overall, getting no help from other teams to move up a spot or two. Bummer, but so it goes, at least now they know.
Step 3: Sort out Evgeni Malkin
Resolution on this was reached by signing Malkin to a one-year extension.
Step 4: Ownership transition
Status quo holds for awaiting the official finalization league. Word is that could be this month, including more involvement out of Mario Lemieux. That would be a nice opening impression for a new ownership group.
Step 5: Other free agents
The unrestricted free agents on the NHL roster, along with Malkin, are Kevin Hayes, Anthony Mantha, Noel Acciari, Connor Dewar, Connor Clifton, Ryan Shea, Ilya Solovyov and Stuart Skinner.
Malkin, Dewar and Solovyov were re-signed in May. There’s still a month before free agency but if there was a 0.5 over/under for another signing out of this group to come back, you might be fine in taking the under. Contract/market forces make it reasonable for Mantha and Shea to see what the free agency will bring, it doesn’t look like there’s interest from the team on anyone else still out there.
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Now, as we ease into June here’s the current checklist of what to watch for.
Step 5b: More about free agents
On a related note to Step 5 above, there’s restricted free agency ahead for Arturs Silovs, Egor Chinakhov, Joel Blomqvist, Ville Koivunen and Alex Alexeyev. Aside from what the decision is about Alexeyev, either new contract agreements or at least qualifying offers will be sent to the rest of that group by the deadline later this month for progress in that area in the near future.
Down a notch further, several key AHL players are headed into unrestricted free agency. It was already announced in March that Joona Koppanen agreed to a 2026-27 contract to play in Sweden. Boko Imama, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and defenseman Sebastian Aho are free agents on a level of player that tend to bounce around at this stage of their careers (though the well-regarded Imama is a solid candidate that the Pens may keep for a third season in the organization). Taylor Gauthier is on that path too as a free agent, though the Pens have expressed public interest in returning.
Step 6: June 1 free agents
This year there wasn’t much drama for the Penguins on drafted players whose rights expired yesterday. Zam Plante and Luke Devlin don’t apply since they are still enrolled in college that means Pittsburgh retains their rights a while longer. Max Graham was on an AHL contract last year and played more in the ECHL without looking like much of an NHL prospect.
Next year’s June 1 could have been bigger since 2025 CHL prospects who don’t have college commitments will be on the clock to sign by 6/1/27 or re-enter the draft. But many, including Quinn Beauchesne who opted to commit to Boston College for next season, have helped push back that quick clock, Ryan Miller, Kale Dach and Carter Sanderson are on the CHL to NCAA path as well. Travis Hayes, who was in Wilkes as an ATO this spring, still is in-line to be a June 1, 2027 sign-by date and see his pro career start in 2027-28.
(For further detail, there’s also an August 15th sign by date for NCAA players who have graduated, which is when Cruz Lucius is expected to opt for free agency after turning down an offer for Pittsburgh).
Step 7: Front office silly season
Todd Nelson’s name is starting to get floated around as a potential head coaching candidate. There are three openings currently (Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver) and more situations that could up in the air (LA has an interim coach, Vegas doesn’t have a coach for next season as of yet). Nelson is an veteran coach with three AHL championships and plenty of NHL experience, it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s offered a chance somewhere given the strong season the Penguins had and Nelson’s role with the power play and player development.
Three general manager jobs have recently been filled (Toronto, New Jersey, Vancouver), Nashville remains looking for a new GM. Jason Spezza’s name has been out there as a rising star, it may or may not be this cycle but it does look like eventually he will be getting a GM job somewhere in the future.
On the surface, Pittsburgh is set with all key members in the front office under contract for next season. Whether anyone decides to leave and responding to vacancies after waiting and seeing if they develop will be the name of the game.
Step 8: Draft prep
The bulk of the month will likely be spent finalizing a plan for the NHL draft, to be held June 26-27 in Buffalo.
The Penguins currently have seven picks, including three in the top 54 selections of the draft. Pittsburgh only has one pick over Rounds 4-7 (Nashville’s sixth rounder). The word ‘currently’ looms large. The Pens made four trades at the 2025 NHL draft – twice they traded down, once they traded up and they made another deal to send out an NHL player for a second round pick. They’re often very active to shuffle around on draft day and that could again be the case this season to attempt to extract as much value as possible for the future, depending on how the situation plays out in real time.
Step 9: Pro Scouting
Another behind the scenes action point, the Penguins will definitely be trying to find the next versions of Parker Wotherspoon, Anthony Mantha, Arturs Silovs and Justin Brazeau, if they can. All of those players contributed mightily to team success in 2025-26 and any NHL team can always strive for improvement around the margins if they find the right fits available. The results of this work won’t be seen until July but the time now for preparation is at hand to scour which players may be available as free agents and how they might fit with the organization.
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