PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - The wait is finally over.
Nearly a year after the initial announcement that the Hoffman family was looking to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins from Fenway Sports Group, the sale was approved by the National Hockey League on Tuesday and now “is expected to close imminently,” per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. But what kind of impact will this change really have on the Penguins going forward?
The Fan Morning Show Host Donny Chedrick spoke with Jesse Marshall, another NHL writer from The Athletic, to discuss that question as well as some potential players the Penguins could select in the upcoming NHL Draft this weekend.
When asked why the deal took as long as it did to reach the finish line, Marshall said the many important figures still active in and around the historic franchise likely played a role. However, he also added that this drawn-out timeline wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“I think it varies with the pace at which people want to get the deal done. One of the things that probably delayed it this time was there were a lot of satellite people involved in this. Even Mario Lemieux is a name you pull out, there’s an expectation that he’s going to be involved here. There’s a need to sit down with him and figure out what (his role) looks like,” Marshall said.
The good news for the Penguins is that, unlike under FSG, they will likely be the Hoffman family’s top priority going forward since they will be its only major professional sports team. With FSG, the Pens were forced to share wealth with more lucrative teams like the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club.
The most significant change for the Penguins as a result of the ownership switch will probably occur at the ECHL level. Since late 2019, the Hoffman family has owned the Florida Everblades, who have built something of a dynasty in the league by capturing the Kelly Cup in four of its last five campaigns. It also just so happens the Everblades were the ones to bounce Pittsburgh’s ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, out of the postseason this past year. Now, there’s a chance they may also bounce them from the Penguins organization.
Because of the conflict of interest that exists between the Nailers and the Hoffman family’s stake in the Everblades, Marshall believes Florida could replace Wheeling as Pittsburgh’s ECHL contender.
“All signs for me point to it changing, and I think that stinks not only for the people of Pittsburgh who take that short trip down to Wheeling and experience the game, but also organizationally. (General Manager) Kyle Dubas can jump in the car and drive 40 minutes down the road and watch a good portion of his farm system, and now everybody’s gonna have to fly to Florida. That’s just not as good, no matter how you slice it,” Marshall said.
With their new ownership group now decided, the Penguins will look to start the Hoffman family era off on a successful note this weekend at the NHL Draft in Buffalo. Pittsburgh will have five selections at its disposal, the highest being the No. 22 pick in the first round. According to Marshall, each team’s selections this year will be difficult to gauge beyond the top 15 picks. Still, he rattled off a couple of prospects that he believes could help Pittsburgh in its mission to keep building for the future while competing in the present.
The biggest name Marshall could see Pittsburgh taking with its first-round selection is forward J.P. Hurlbert, a teammate of recent Penguins draft pick Harrison Brunicke. Hurlbert willed the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers into the postseason this past year by posting a whopping 97 points through 68 regular-season games (42 goals, 55 assists).
“I just don’t think there’s a forward in the Penguins’ system like Hurlbert. He loves to carry the puck, and he’s really good at it. It’s an aggressive kind of carrying. He’s seeking out contact, he wants to bull you over, he wants to fend you off with one hand behind his back. Maybe a little too individualistic at times, but a lot of those times he's created a ton of scoring chances. He’s a player the Penguins are going to know a lot about (because of Brunicke),” Marshall said.
Another key name Marshall mentioned could help Pittsburgh offensively is Russian OHL phenom Nikita Klepov, who also racked up around 100 points during his 2025-26 campaign with the Saginaw Spirit. Marshall said that the way Klepov gallops when he picks up speed reminds him of Evgeni Malkin’s skating style.
“I refer to him as a wild stallion. There are times he plays outside the confines of the system and he’ll take defenseman on really long, arduous journeys through the defensive zone. Then when he drags them out of position for a while he pounces on that. He’s powerful. Of all the players I watched last year, I probably had the most fun putting the video together for Klepov. The kind of stuff that draws you to the edge of your seat and makes your jaw drop, he’s doing that on a regular basis,” Marshall said.
Along with their first-round selection, Pittsburgh will also have three other premium picks within the top 100 of the draft. With so many other teams trading valuable picks to acquire players lately (see Brady Tkachuk, Bowen Byram), it will be interesting to see how Dubas decides to use them.
