Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
This surely won’t be the biggest move the Pittsburgh Penguins make this offseason, but they got the ball, or puck, moving Thursday when they acquired forward Hendrix Lapierre from the Washington Capitals for a 2027 third-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
Lapierre, 24, is eligible for restricted free agency this summer. He was a first-round draft pick, 22nd overall, by the Capitals in 2020, but that doesn’t mean he’s a fallback winger for Penguins captain Sidney Crosby — unless he becomes one of general manager Kyle Dubas’ more successful project players. Initially, he probably projects to a bottom-six player.
He has split his pro career between Washington and AHL Hershey Bears. He has 13 goals, 47 points in 158 career NHL games, including four goals, 16 points in 74 games in 2025-26, when he played in a limited role in terms of ice time.
In the AHL, Lapierre has won two Calder Cups and has 27 goals, 79 points in 113 games. In 2024, he was named the AHL playoffs MVP, leading that postseason with 22 points, including seven goals. Notably, the Hershey coach that was was current Penguins assistant Todd Nelson.
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