Hendrix Lapierre will officially be donning Pittsburgh Penguins colors next season.
After the Penguins acquired Lapierre from the Washington Capitals for two draft picks on June 25, the 24-year-old center signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract ($1.3 million AAV) on Friday. Lapierre, Washington’s 2020 first-round pick, was a restricted free agent this offseason.
Lapierre has struggled to find a consistent and productive role with the Capitals since graduating to the NHL, skating a career-low 8:50 of ice time per game this past year. He made $850k during the 2025-26 campaign on the one-year extension he signed with the Caps after his entry-level contract expired last summer.
In 74 games with the Capitals this past season, Lapierre recorded 16 points (4g, 12a). He went the first 48 games of the year without scoring a goal, a drought that lasted 90 total games when stretched back to the 2023-24 campaign.
“I think [Lapierre’s] someone who’s had great success at the American League level, and this year, as the year went on, sort of established himself in a role,” Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said last week. “I think as the year went on for us, and when we look at our prospect pool, speed is a major area that we want to continue to add to. We’ve got a lot of really talented people, but we don’t have a lot of guys who maybe possess the elite-level speed. He has that. He can play wing, play center, and then just a deep familiarity with some others in our organization.”
The deep familiarity Dubas references likely stems from Penguins assistant coach Todd Nelson, who was the head coach of the Hershey Bears for all three seasons Lapierre played in the AHL. The two won back-to-back Calder Cups together in 2023 and 2024, with Lapierre winning AHL playoff MVP honors in 2024 after posting 22 points (7g, 15a) in 20 postseason games.
Lapierre will be joined in Pittsburgh by former Capitals teammate Trevor van Riemsdyk, who signed a two-year, $8 million contract ($4 million AAV) with the Penguins minutes into the first day of NHL free agency this past Wednesday.
