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Penguins Waste No Time as they Sign 3 Players to Boost Next Season's Push
The Pittsburgh Penguins may have officially been eliminated from any hope of the playoffs, but they're already getting a head start on next year's team.
It's been confirmed that the Pittsburgh Penguins will not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, meaning they will have now gone 3 years without a postseason appearance.
But general manager Kyle Dubas has already started work on next year's team; 3 new players have officially been signed to contracts and will begin their careers with the AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Defenseman David Breazeale and forwards Aaron Huglen and Zach Urdahl are all now under contract:
Breazeale arrives from the University of Maine after having just helped his team win their 1st Hockey East title in over 2 decades as team captain. He had 51 points (8G, 43A) in 144 total games with the Black Bears.
Huglen, who was originally taken by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, arrives from the University of Minnesota, where he was also captain. While at Minnesota, he had 73 points (32G, 41A) in 150 games. He also was the recipient of the Minnesota's Donald W. Community Service Award in 2023.
Additionally, Urdahl played for both the University of Wisconsin and University of Nebraska-Omaha. In 2023-24, he was 1st on the team with 13 goals and had 65 points (35G, 30A) in 137 total games split between the pair of schools.
They're the newest young faces in the organization, who recently re-called forwards Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty from the AHL.
Will the Penguins be able to rebound for next year and make a return trip to the postseason?
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 7 | 144 ANSWERS Penguins Waste No Time as they Sign 3 Players to Boost Next Season's Push Can the Penguins bounce back next year and return to the playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 105 | 72.9 % |
| No | 39 | 27.1 % |
| List of polls | ||