NHL Draft, Pittsburgh Penguins; Photo by Dan Kingerski The Wheeling Nailers, the Pittsburgh Penguins trade rumors, and the patient Penguins fans who have surprisingly not taken up pitchforks in either direction this summer mark the winding-down offseason. Perhaps it was the playoff appearance that satiated the wild beast? Or maybe it was knowing that (trigger warning) Jack Johnson came off the Penguins payroll on June 30 and is now part of the coaching staff for the Ohio State Women’s hockey program.
Indeed, Penguins fans lost Johnson and Kevin Hayes on the same day. Beware, the number of scapegoats is becoming scarce. Generally, there have been plenty of rumors and chases this summer, but the Penguins’ turnover and replenishment have been via free agency instead of those trade rumors that titillated and tantalized for weeks leading up to the NHL Draft.
Which brings us to the current moment. Yes, the Pittsburgh Penguins were also thought to have a lumpy summer in 2025, but lightning struck when new coach Dan Muse and a few players who were quite eager to prove their worth combined with a dazzling comeback campaign by Erik Karlsson and a stellar showing by Evgeni Malkin with a chip on his shoulder to prove he was “still a good player” to lift the Penguins far beyond expectations.
However, there is a reason such seasons are quixotically referred to as lightning in a bottle. As of July 25, the vastly improved Eastern Conference means the Penguins are unlikely a playoff contender and are more likely a top-10 draft pick in-waiting. But that’s not a bad thing, either.
The Penguins prospect pool has a lot of tadpoles, but one or two big fish could be the accelerant to the rebuild that general manager Kyle Dubas has been seeking. How Dubas obtains that big fish is one of two ways. He could simply use a high pick–if they have one–or trade that top-10 pick as several teams did in June to land that player who becomes the new central figure for the organization.
Formerly, those top-10 picks were sacrosanct to teams and changed hands only a couple of times in the handful of drafts prior to 2026, but the paradigm has changed, and they are now currency. “There were multiple top 10 picks moved, which isn’t overly common. So, for us, we would aspire to be involved in every one of those conversations,” Dubas said after the first round of the draft on June 27.
“It’s just that we didn’t have a top 10 pick because of the season that the team had, and I don’t think we would change that whatsoever because of the way that it was really fueled by the development of (Ben) Kindel, (Blake) Lizotte, (Connor) Dewars and guys that are going to be a part of it for a long time.” With the tectonic plates of the NHL trade market moving in ways they haven’t in 40 years, a top-10 pick at some point seems to be a necessity, and Dubas has set up his team to be both competitive on the ice and for a top-10 pick (regardless if that was the plan).
Wheeling & Prospects An ECHL affiliation isn’t typically a large concern for fanbases. After all, the ECHL is mostly known as a league for fighters and goalie development. For every other player, it might as well be a one-way ticket to Siberia without packing a coat.
However, the Penguins organization was making good use of that affiliation with the Wheeling Nailers. And the move to the Florida Everblades driven by new ownership’s allegiance just doesn’t sit well. It’s an error on several levels, highlighted by the new affiliate Florida (technically the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) signing 32-year-old goalie Cam Johnson, who has been the starting goalie in Florida for seven seasons, to an AHL deal Friday.
Johnson will remain in Florida, and on the best day, such a move would complicate the progression of 19-year-old netminder prospect Gabriel D’Aigle. There’s also another shoe to drop regarding D’Aigle, but put a pin in that. Not only did goalies Casey DeSmith and Sergei Murashov come through Wheeling, but current prospect Avery Hayes made a pit stop in Wheeling, as well as a significant number of WBS regulars over the past decade.
Also, Wheeling’s close proximity to Pittsburgh meant the Penguins staff had close access to prospects; staff could meet with players or scout the team and be in their own bed later that night. There was also an overlap of fans. One of the contributing factors to the recently lackluster attendance for the WBS Penguins is the lack of fan overlap.
Most hockey fans in the Wilkes-Barre area are Flyers fans, and a smaller number loyal to WBS are Penguins fans. Such divided loyalties didn’t exist in Wheeling, but will now. On the hockey side, Wheeling has been a developmental piece for the Penguins.
Conversely, Florida is built to win ECHL championships, as evidenced by a 32-year-old goalie. The average age of last season’s Florida team was 27.9. The average age of Wheeling was barely above 25 (25.03).
And what many don’t realize is that the Hoffmanns owning the Everblades in no way conflicted with dealing with Wheeling. It didn’t have to be an either-or situation. Owners may own several ECHL teams; Zawyer Group and Spire own multiple teams, and Tim Tebow has invested in several, too.
The league is essentially the wild west. In short, the Hoffmanns could have kept their ownership of Florida. They could have continued selling veteran players who are happy enough at the AA level on the joys of getting paid to play hockey in southern Florida, and continued dealing with Wheeling as a development team.
Perhaps the most unfair part of the situation, the late date of the switch–July 16–essentially cratered the Wheeling team. By the time the Penguins pulled the plug, most available players were already spoken for. Now, Wheeling is left to cobble together an entire organization from leftovers.
And don’t overlook the subtle PR hit that the new owners have taken as a result of brusquely casting aside Wheeling. In this part of Appalachia, loyalty is real, and the Hoffmann family’s first action was to chuck a loyal, albeit small, section of the Penguins community overboard in favor of their ECHL franchise 1275 miles away. Intriguingly, Wheeling gave D’Aigle a qualifying offer by the July 7 deadline, which means they own his ECHL rights.
The talented but raw goalie isn’t ready for AHL action, but the organizational schism could keep him in Wheeling, separated from the Penguins staff, unless Wheeling steps aside and trades him to Florida–which they’re not obligated to do. Overall, the move was not a big deal that significantly moved the needle in Pittsburgh, but it still doesn’t sit well, and a lot of Penguins fans noticed
even if they don’t care too much.