It’s not the most creative name for a line.
After all, it’s just the first letter of the last name of all three forwards who skate on it.
But the Pittsburgh Penguins’ fourth line of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar stood out for a variety of reasons.
“The fourth line — the ‘LAD’ line with (Lizotte), Acciari and Dewar — they’re always in the (offensive) zone buzzing,” Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany said Jan. 3.
In the 41 games Lizotte, Acciari and Dewar skated together during the 2025-26 regular season, they logged 362:39 of common five-on-five ice time. Only the top line of Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust saw more ice time at 389.04.
Additionally, the Lad Line was decidedly in the black in terms of shot attempts for/shot attempts against (376-328) and goals for/goals against (16-10) while leading the team in defensive zones (214).
Much of that was due to Dewar, who set career highs in games (78) goals (14) and points (30) while averaging 13:55 of ice time, including a team-best 2:41 of short-handed time on ice.
Connor Dewar makes no mistake on the shorthanded breakaway ???? pic.twitter.com/lBemur648x
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 19, 2026
“I mean, he’s got skill,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said April 27. “If you go through those goals, there’s been some pretty ones, too. … We’ve seen other moments throughout the course of the year where that shouldn’t totally come as a surprise. He’s got skill. He doesn’t take any shifts off.
“You know what you’re going to get from him every day, from a work standpoint. I don’t think he knows anything else other than just playing the right way and playing hard. But he’s got skill, and he can not just make plays, but he’s also shown that ability to finish.”
Dewar was one of several players on the Penguins who established new career highs under Muse, a first-year head coach.
“A fresh slate for everyone here this season,” Dewar said Friday during the team’s exit interviews. “A lot of guys who had something to prove. And Dan helped everyone with developing and improving and putting a good product on the ice and winning ultimately.
“(Muse) gave me a role here and gave me a regular shift. But I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates, especially Blake and Noel.”
The Penguins acquired Dewar at the 2025 trade deadline from the Toronto Maple Leafs and moved him around to fill in a variety of holes in their lineup to close out the 2024-25 season under former coach Mike Sullivan.
During the 2025 offseason, Penguins management declined to offer Dewar a contract offer as a pending restricted free agent but wound up re-signing as an unrestricted free agent, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.1 million.
That pact worked well for the Penguins, given Dewar’s strong figures in the 2025-26 season.
But now, Dewar — who turns 27 on June 26 — is once again a pending unrestricted free agent. And given the rising salary cap figures around the NHL and the general lack of options among potential free agents, a player like Dewar, who is coming off a career season and can play left wing, as well as center, would presumably be able to command a healthy pay raise as well as a lengthy term with his next contract.
For his part, Dewar has largely declined to say if there have been any talks over a new deal with Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas.
“That’s between my agent (Tobin Wright) and Kyle,” Dewar said.
But he seems to understand why his name fits here.
“Just the culture here. Everyone here just wants to work hard. … I feel like it’s a great fit here. So, we’ll see what happens.”