With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason for a third consecutive year without a playoff appearance, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 56 individuals signed to an NHL contract – including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons - with the organization.
Starting with Noel Acciari and going on through to Philip Tomasino (regrettably, there is no Z on the payroll), every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.
This series is scheduled to be published Mondays through Saturdays leading up until June 24, four days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)
Connor Dewar
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Age: 25
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 192 pounds
2024-25 NHL statistics: 48 games, 10 points (four goals, six assists), 11:33 of average ice time per contest
2024-25 AHL statistics: One game, two points (one goal, one assist)
Contract: Signed to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.18 million. Pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason
(Dewar is eligible for salary arbitration.)
Acquired: Trade, March 7, 2025
This season: The 2024-25 campaign got off to a rocky start for Connor Dewar. And his problems actually began in the previous season.
Fairly early during the 2023-24 campaign, Dewar suffered a torn labrum in a shoulder while playing for the Minnesota Wild. Powering through the pain, Dewar was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2024 trade deadline. Soon after the Maple Leafs were eliminated in the first round of the postseason, Dewar underwent shoulder surgery in May.
Still recuperating by the time training camp rolled around, Dewar opened the 2024-25 regular season on long-term injured reserve. After a brief conditioning assignment with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies, Dewar was activated and rejoined the Maple Leafs’ active roster on Nov. 8.
Primarily deployed in a fourth-line role as well as on the penalty kill (and at all three forward positions), Dewar appeared in 28 games and recorded three points before landing on regular injured reserve on Jan. 25 due to an undisclosed ailment that cost him 11 games.
Returning to the lineup on March 2, he skated in two more games for the Maple Leafs before being traded to the Penguins.
Blessed with a more prominent role on a team in the midst of a rebuild, Dewar saw his average ice time per contest jump from 9:58 with the Maple Leafs to 14:27 as a member of the Penguins.
Congruently, his production saw a subtle surge as he generated seven points (four goals, three assists) in 17 games with the Penguins while primarily skating as a left winger.
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Connor Dewar with 02:49 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Noel Acciari and Conor Timmins.
Pittsburgh: 1
New Jersey: 1#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/ogS4DWmdLD— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 15, 2025
The future: Dewar offered a certain level of versatility for the Penguins after joining the club.
Granted, the Penguins were a pretty depleted group after the trade deadline, but Dewar occasionally took on assignments on the second line and was reasonably competent in that deployment despite limited puck skills.
At the same time, he looked completely at ease in a bottom-six capacity with his energetic skating. And he even carved out a role on the penalty kill, averaging 2:02 of short-handed ice time per contest.
Playing within his limitations, Dewar, who turns 26 on June 26, appeared to impress coaches and management in his brief tenure with the Penguins.
It’s probably safe to assume they will re-sign Dewar as a pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason. The main question is how much term he can command.
And no matter what system the Penguins might implement under a new coach, Dewar shouldn’t have issues being a fit.
With a dutiful simple game and the ability to skate at all three forward positions, Dewar seems to have a place through the utility he provides.