In the summer, Ryan Shea’s role in the new rendition of the Pittsburgh Penguins was up in the air.
Sure, the left-shot defenseman had earned himself a one-year extension with the club back in March worth $900K. And yes, it was the second time that general manager Kyle Dubas had liked what he saw enough to extend Shea after originally signing him in the summer of 2023.
But while that contract guaranteed him some financial stability, it did little to ensure him a lineup spot next year. With the parting of ways between Mike Sullivan and the Penguins and the subsequent hiring of first-time head coach Dan Muse, Shea had a new coaching staff to win over and a new system to learn.
Plus, Dubas and the front office had done a fair amount of work to fill the blue line with bodies. Out went Matt Grzelcyk, Vladislab Kolyachonok, Connor Timmins, and P.O. Joseph, but in came Matt Dumba, Connor Clifton, Philip Kemp, and Alexander Alexeyev.
Plus, former first round pick Owen Pickering was looking to make a full-time jump to the NHL in his age-21/22 season, and 19-year-old Harrison Brunicke loomed in the background for an NHL gig as well.
A ton of the names and personnel around Shea changed, but the logjam didn’t. It was up to him to earn a spot on the roster coming out of camp, and man are the Penguins glad he did.
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