
Penguins show D Matt Grzelcyk the door, sign Boeser to long-term contract ahead of free agency

By Josh Yohe
June 29, 2025
Ladies and gentlemen, don't look now, but the reigning Stanley Cup champions may have successfully won the off-season without signing one free agent yet.
Widely expected to have to be let go due to the team eventually needing to retool for the future, the Penguins have resigned star forward Brock Boeser to a five-year contract, worth $36 million total. His cap hit will come in at $7.2 per year. The team was reportedly on their last legs trying to negotiate a contract with Boeser, originally offering him a three-year contract, but eventually reached an agreement on term, landing on a 5-year term that will carry Boeser on the Penguins' books until he reaches his age-33 season.
Boeser, landed by the Penguins mid-season from the Vancouver Canucks to help the team make their Stanley Cup championship push - scored 28 goals and 61 points between the two teams before leading the playoffs in goal-scoring with 13 goals and led the Penguins with 21 points through 22 games. He scored two key goals for the team in Game 7 on the way to their 3-2 overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to successfully negotiate a one-year contract extension for Stanley Cup hero forward Emil Bemstrom, signing a simple, one-year, $1 million contract to return to the team to continue to bolster the team's bottom six forward corps. He scored 13 goals and 26 points in 67 games played, while sporting an impressive +15 plus/minus rating, while averaging 11:24 of ice-time.
The Penguins also re-signed forward Connor Dewar to a $975 thousand contract for one year, on a two-way deal. Dewar provided consistent offensive spark for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in the AHL, scoring 13 goals and 47 points in 70 games played. The team also snagged grinder forward Bokondji Imama to a one-year, two-way contract for $800 thousand.
It will be interesting for the Penguins on how they will replace defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has reportedly priced himself out of his position in Pittsburgh. The team will enter the free agency period with just over $8 million of cap space. Knowing GM Kyle Dubas, the Penguins will try to replace him by committee rather than going big-game hunting.
Resigned
F Brock Boeser (5-year, $7.2 million)
F Emil Bemstrom (1-year, $1 million)
F Philip Tomasino (1-year, $1.85 million)
F Vasily Ponomarev (2-year, $925k)
F Connor Dewar (1-year, $975k)*
F Bokondji Imama (1-year, $800k)*
F Filip Hallander (2-year, $825k)*
F Emil Jarventie (3-year, $950k)*
D Kalle Kangas (3-year, $875k)*
F Max Graham (1-year, $775k)*
F Mathias Laferrier (2-year, $800k)
* denotes two-way contract
Released
D Matt Grzelcyk (13 goals, 43 points in 80 games played - NHL)
D Conor Timmins (2 goals, 12 points in 59 games played - NHL)
D Ryan Shea (4 goals, 16 points in 48 games played - AHL)
D Filip Kral (5 goals, 19 points in 52 games played - AHL)
D Colton Poolman (No stats)
F Marc Johnstone (7 goals, 16 points in 72 games played - AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (7 goals, 14 points in 72 games played - AHL)