Pens Points: Mark Your Calendars
Schedule is out and free agency is still rolling. All about that and more in Pens Points.
As the dust settled on a hectic first day of NHL free agency, fans from around the league shuffled through the debris and had ample opportunity to analyze their respective teams moves and argue until the sun came up about whether or not they improved. Amongst all this, the NHL dropped the 2024-25 schedule while players continued to sign and business rolled along across the league.
Pens Points...
When you dissect the Penguins moves on the opening day of free agency, a path towards a rebuild starts to appear and Kyle Dubas is laying the ground work for the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins. [Pensburgh]
It will take some time to see exactly where the newest Penguins will fit into the lineup come the new season, but based on the names they brought in, most of the roster will look the same when compared to last year. [Pensburgh]
With the initial stages of the NHL offseason checked off, there was still one outstanding item yet to be revealed. That was taken care of on Tuesday with the release of the 2024-25 schedule for all 32 teams. [Pensburgh]
Former Penguins television play-by-play voice Steve Mears will be heading slightly west to take over the same role with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mears spent last season calling Penguins games for local radio. [WPXI]
While the Penguins start to free agency might have been underwhelming, one area they have drawn much praise was their performance in last week’s NHL Draft, where they turned limited picks into a solid replenish of the farm system. [The Athletic $$]
Kyle Dubas continued to add depth on the second day of free agency, signing Sebastian Aho (not that one) to a two-year deal. To this point, Aho has spent all five of his professional seasons in the New York Islanders organization. [Penguins]
NHL News and Notes...
After letting Steven Stamkos walk on the first day of free agency, the Tampa Bay Lightning locked down franchise icon Victor Hedman with a four-year contract extension and could very well be the next captain of the Lightning. [NHL]
A pair of trades on Tuesday saw the St. Louis Blues bolster their roster with the additions of forwards Radek Faksa from Dallas and Mathieu Joseph from Ottawa. [Blues]