With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason after a brief return to the postseason, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 53 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.
Starting with veteran Noel Acciari and going on through to prospect Bill Zonnon, every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.
This series is scheduled to be published every day until June 24, two 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.)
Taylor Gauthier
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Right
Age: 25
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 209 pounds
2025-26 ECHL regular season statistics: 36 games, 21-9-5 record, 2.09 goals against average, .929 save percentage, three shutouts
2025-26 ECHL postseason statistics: 10 games, 6-4 record, 1.89 goals against average, .934 save percentage, three shutouts
Contract: Signed to a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000. Pending unrestricted free agent on July 1
(Gauthier does not require waivers for an assignment to a minor league affiliate.)
Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, March 1, 2022
This season: It didn’t make sense for the Penguins to hang on to Taylor Gauthier.
But it made sense for the undrafted Gauthier to stick with the Penguins.
Or at least with one of their minor league affiliates.
With an established veteran in Tristan Jarry, as well as two rising prospects in Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov, manning the pipes, the Penguins were well-stocked in net. As such, they opted not to extend a qualifying offer to Gauthier, an ECHL All-Star, last offseason, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
Instead of exploring any kind of other opportunities with a franchise that could offer fewer impediments to the NHL, Gauthier opted to stay put and signed an American Hockey League contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on July 2.
Any limited chance Gauthier had at moving up the depth chart past one of the Penguins’ NHL-contract goaltenders dissipated earlier in training camp as he suffered an undisclosed injury during a practice session.
Sidelined for the first two months of regular season play, Gauthier did not make his season debut until Dec. 6 when he made 22 saves on 23 shots in a 3-1 home win against the Greensboro Gargoyles.
After being loaned to Hockey Canada for the Spengler Cup tournament at the end of the 2025 calendar year, Gauthier regained his typical station as Wheeling’s top goaltender after New Year’s Day.
A ????save by Taylor Gauthier and then a little ???????????????? brought to you by laborslocal1149! pic.twitter.com/HtEvNdzeua
— xy-Wheeling Nailers (@WheelingNailers) January 3, 2026
By the time the calendar flipped to March, big things began to happen for Gauthier.
Starting on March 4, he became the Nailers’ all-time leader in goaltending wins (61) when he made 30 saves on 33 shots in regulation and overtime during a 4-3 road shootout win against the Rapid City Rush.
Two days later, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Gauthier to a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the season after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Filip Larsson’s contract was terminated.
On Easter Sunday (April 5), Gauthier received an unexpected gift.
With veteran goaltender Stuart Skinner unexpectedly sidelined by a facial injury and Murashov not physically close enough to Pittsburgh to get to town for an afternoon game, Gauthier was recalled to the NHL roster for the first time in his career to serve as the backup to rookie Arturs Silovs during a 9-4 home win against the Florida Panthers.
Two days later, Gauthier was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before being returned to Wheeling on April 10.
After helping the Nailers secure first place in the North Division, Gauthier led his team to a division semifinal series win against the Reading Royals, winning the best-of-seven series, 4-1. Gauthier had two shutouts in the series.
Entering Saturday, Gauthier and the Nailers trailed the Maine Mariners, 3-2, in the North Division final series.
The future: During his season-ending media availability on Tuesday, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas was fairly bullish on potentially re-signing Gauthier.
And for his part, Gauthier has been pretty passionate in explaining his preference for remaining with the Penguins based on his success with Wheeling.
To be sure, Gauthier’s path to steady work at the NHL level is still cluttered.
While the Penguins are likely to let Skinner walk as a pending unrestricted free agent, Blomqvist or Murashov will probably be promoted to the NHL to platoon, presumably, with Silovs. Assuming he re-signs with the Penguins, Gauthier will, at best, open the 2026-27 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Regardless, Gauthier has found a home with the Penguins.