The Pittsburgh Penguins formally announced the cessation of their decades-long affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers on Thursday, replacing them with the Florida Everblades, based in Estero, Fla.
Such a decision was long anticipated, with the Hoffmann Family of Companies pursuing a sale of the Penguins since the 2025 offseason. The Hoffmann group has owned the Everblades since 2019 and has stewarded that franchise to the Kelly Cup championship in four of the past five seasons.
The Penguins had been affiliated with the Nailers since 1998. It was the longest active affiliation agreement between an NHL and ECHL club.
In contrast, the Penguins have been affiliated with the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins since 1999 when that club came into existence.
“The Penguins are grateful to the Wheeling Nailers for being a tremendous partner as our ECHL affiliate over the last 29 years,” Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas said in a team-issued statement. “For nearly three decades, the Nailers have been an invaluable part of the organization’s player development process.”
Decades-long affiliation agreements are somewhat rare in professional hockey as many other NHL franchises switch affiliates on a regular basis. In other instances, those affiliates move or go out of business.
Even rarer is having an affiliate less than an hour away by car, as was the case with the Nailers, who are situated in the northern panhandle of West Virginia.
Before the NHL loosened rules that required players to physically report to an affiliate, former general manager Ray Shero and the Penguins would assign players to Wheeling instead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in order to manage the club’s salary cap figures on a day-to-day basis without the exhaustive four-hour drive to Northeast Pennsylvania.
A handful of players who helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017 spent time developing in Wheeling, including forwards Josh Archibald, Carter Rowney and Tom Kuhnhackl.
In particular, Kuhnhackl found a course correction for his career with the Nailers. A third-round draft pick (No. 110 overall) in 2010, Kuhnhackl was a scoring winger at the junior level but never found an offensive touch as a professional.
He was assigned to Wheeling a handful of times to develop his defensive acumen and became a key penalty killer with the 2016 and 2017 championship teams.
“That’s where it all started,” Kuhnhackl said in a 2018 interview. “That’s where I learned how to play defensive hockey because I was in the offensive zone a whole lot. That’s where it all started and that’s where I realized how important it is.”
In recent years, current Dubas has made the Nailers a priority in terms of developing prospects. Last season, former Nailers goaltender Sergei Murashov and forward Avery Hayes each made their NHL debuts with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As recently as April, the Nailers’ location came into play for the Pittsburgh Penguins. When veteran goaltender Stuart Skinner was unable to play in an afternoon home game on April 5 due to an unexpected eye injury, the Penguins recalled Nailers goaltender Taylor Gauthier to dress as a backup goaltender, as he was able to make the relatively short drive from Wheeling in a quicker fashion than a goaltender with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would have.
Once the sale of the Penguins to the Hoffmann group was formally approved by the NHL on June 23, they were not ambiguous about wanting to turn the Everblades into the Penguins’ new ECHL affiliate.
“One hundred percent,” said David Hoffmann, patriarch of the group, during an introductory press conference on June 25. “I think they would run me out of Naples (Fla.) if they’re not. We already have people wearing Penguins jerseys at our games, so I think the high expectation level is that’s going to happen. And we want to do that.”
The Everblades were previously an affiliate of the St. Louis Blues before that agreement expired earlier this offseason.
As for the Nailers, a handful of NHL teams are looking for a new ECHL affiliate given the typical shuffling that happens with most other franchises and their affiliates.
Players signed to NHL or AHL contracts with Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, respectively, will report to Florida if they are assigned there. Players signed to ECHL contracts will remain with Wheeling.
One matter that remains unresolved is the future of Nailers head coach Ryan Papaioannou, who is an employee of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This past season, Papaioannou guided the Nailers to a 46-20-3-3 record and the North Division title.
As of the Everblades, Brad Ralph is one of the best coaches in the history of the ECHL and isn’t likely to be going anywhere. Ralph is the third-winningest coach in ECHL history with 584 career victories.
Following the first round of the NHL Draft on June 26, Dubas spoke to the desire to find an appetizing solution for the future of the Nailers.
“That’s obviously important to the Hoffmanns (having the Everblades be the Penguins’ new affiliate),” Dubas said. “We also want to be very fair to Wheeling. I know (assistant general manager Jason Spezza) and (director of minor-league operations Amanda Kessel) have been in communication with (Nailers head coach Ryan Papaioannou) constantly. It’s a difficult position in a way because they’ve been a great affiliate for a long time. I think these are very unique circumstances and regardless of what happens here, Wheeling’s a great market for the ECHL and it’s been a great affiliate.”
“We’ll want to make sure that that’s noted and that they could be a great spot, if it’s not us, for any NHL team to be in. It’s a great market for the league.”
The Nailers are owned by the Hockey Club of the Ohio Valley, LLC., an entity managed by the Regional Economic Development Partnership (based in Wheeling) and the Wheeling Area Hockey Association.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are owned by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Hoffmann group.
“We are sad to see the affiliation end, but understand the lineage of the Hoffmann Family of Companies and the Florida Everblades,” Nailers president and governor Brian Komorowski said in a team-issued statement. “We have already begun speaking with other NHL teams about our affiliation for the future.”