It is now open season for the collegiate players who were drafted but decided, or had the decision made for them, not to sign with their drafting team. Those players became unrestricted free agents on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost Cruz Lucius to the process, but they knew that months ago, when Lucius informed them he wasn’t going to sign with the organization, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas quickly dismissed the loss.

“We felt we had a great opportunity for him, and the proof is in the pudding on the development side,” Dubas said on the team-hosted radio show in April. “Players are entitled to make their decision, and I don’t think we’re in a position here anymore where we have to beg people to come.”

Indeed, the free agents on the current market have not set tongues wagging. It’s certainly not the same situation as former Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz was in during his 2012 courtship when he and his agent essentially set up a speed dating table in a Toronto conference room to hear pitches from teams after Schultz finished his University of Wisconsin career. Schultz had spurned the Anaheim Ducks, who had drafted him in the second round of the 2008 NHL Draft, and he became a free agent in 2012, launching a highly publicized free agent process.

Schultz was intensely sought after and shocked many observers by choosing the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite not winning the Schultz sweepstakes (though they acquired him for a third-round pick at the 2016 trade deadline), the Penguins have had their share of college free agents and undrafted players who have made contributions and even lasting impacts on the franchise.

In fact, we could have made the list a top-10, as plenty of stellar players, including Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, and even Noel Acciari, were undrafted NHLers and played multiple seasons with the team. However, for the purpose of this list, we’re looking for players who came directly to the Penguins as free agents, either undrafted or from the college ranks, which significantly shrinks the list.

And a couple of players just missed the cut. Jayson Megna played 48 games with the Penguins after signing out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2012, and Tim Wallace didn’t make the list after playing 24 games after signing with the Penguins organization following four years at Notre Dame.

Also, current Carolina Hurricanes minority owner Bobby Farnham (remember #FreeFarnham?) played 14 games for the Penguins after Brown University, but alas, his speed, intensity, and on-ice insanity kept him out of the lineup on a meaningful basis.

And who knows, perhaps 2026 spring signee Jake Livanavage will make the list in a year or two.

Top 5 Penguins Undrafted and College Free Agents

**Honorable Mentions: Adam Johnson

Johnson signed with the Penguins in 2017 after a couple of seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. His speed earned him 13 NHL games split between 2018-19 and 2019-20 before he bounced around the AHL and went overseas. He was tragically killed during a game in England’s Elite Ice Hockey League in 2023-24. Johnson’s death spurred significant change in hockey, mandating neck guards and prompting equipment manufacturers to produce lighter, more effective guards.

**Mark Letestu

The responsible center signed with the Penguins after a career at Michigan Tech and played 85 games over three seasons. Former GM Ray Shero traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a rare “what’s best for the player” trade because Letestu was losing his spot in the Penguins’ lineup. Letestu established a long and productive career in Columbus and Edmonton, earning 567 career NHL games as a fourth-line center.

5. Casey DeSmith

DeSmith was an undrafted college free agent who became a steady and more-than-capable backup goalie. He occasionally took the reins when starter Tristan Jarry was injured or struggling, which happened often. DeSmith spent five seasons with the Penguins, appearing in 134 games, posting a solid .912 career save percentage.

The Penguins signed him after a tumultuous end to his University of New Hampshire career. DeSmith was cleared by the school of any wrongdoing and charges and turned pro prior to the 2015-16 season. He is one of many goalies to first make a stop in Wheeling of the ECHL on their way to the NHL.

4. Drew O’Connor

The somewhat underwhelming list also includes one of the most talented players of the group, at least in the salary cap era, but one who never found consistency or his truest game. O’Connor bounced back and forth for two seasons between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre after his college career at Dartmouth. Overall, he played 210 games with the Penguins, most at wing despite being a natural center, and produced 30 goals and 36 assists in a Penguins’ sweater.

The Penguins traded O’Connor to the Vancouver Canucks in 2025 as part of a deal that sent Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver in exchange for the New York Rangers’ first-round pick.

3. Zach Aston-Reese

The high-scoring winger from Northeastern signed with the Penguins in 2017 and made his pro debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins late in the ’16-17 season. Aston-Reese earned 16 NHL games the following season, but his playoff run was cut short by an illegal hit from Washington Capitals ruffian Tom Wilson, from which Aston-Reese suffered a broken jaw.

The winger became a productive fourth-liner primarily focused on defensive assignments, and analytics showed him to be the least-scored-upon player in the league for a couple of seasons during his Penguins tenure.

He was traded to Anaheim as part of the haul for Rickard Rakell, but he played 213 games for the Penguins, scoring 29 goals with 33 assists, and was an unquestioned regular in former coach Mike Sullivan’s lineups.

2. Ben Lovejoy

The Penguins’ quiet and steady defenseman was a spare part on the Stanley Cup-winning 2009 team, spending most of the season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but eventually earned his way into the lineup in the following years.

Lovejoy also came from Dartmouth and signed prior to the 2007-08 season, playing 98 games over parts of four seasons. The team traded him to Anaheim in 2013 for a fifth-round pick.

However, Shero reacquired Lovejoy late in the 2014-15 season. He both shepherded a young Brian Dumoulin as the Penguins captured the 2016 Stanley Cup and was a significant spoke in the wheel before moving on for greener pastures via free agency.

Lovejoy played parts of seven seasons with the Penguins, appearing in 184 games. The stay-at-home defenseman scored nine goals with 38 points, but was an important piece in the franchise’s third Stanley Cup.

1. Conor Sheary

The Penguins’ small winger fought his way up from a minor league deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup and eventually became a linemate of Sidney Crosby en route to a pair of Stanley Cups.

The zippy 5-foot-8, 180-pound winger finished four seasons at UMass-Amherst and played one full season with WBS before getting the call to the NHL

Sheary’s first run in the NHL during the ’15-16 season was solid, though unspectacular. He amassed just three goals and 10 points in 44 games. It was in the 2016-17 season when he paired with Crosby that he exploded for 23 goals and 53 points in 61 games.

Sheary earned a three-year deal after that season and played 184 games in his first three-year stint, but his career has never again equaled that high of ’16-17. Former GM Jim Rutherford traded him to the Buffalo Sabers in June 2018, and he’s played with five teams and had a second stint with the Penguins over the last eight seasons.

Editor’s Note: Sheary was mistakenly omitted from the original publication. We regret the obvious error.

Bonus: John Cullen

Easily the greatest undrafted player who came straight to the Penguins, and one of the forgotten key players in the Penguins’ history. John Cullen was a talented center who helped carry the team in 1991 when franchise center Mario Lemieux missed most of the season due to injury.

He was undrafted after four years at Boston University and was a senior when a freshman named Mike Sullivan arrived for the 1986-87 season.

Technically, Cullen’s first pro contract was with the Flint Spirits of the now-defunct IHL, which competed with the AHL for billing as hockey’s premier Triple-A league, but after just one season in the IHL, the Penguins signed Cullen before the 1988-89 season.

The undrafted center was an immediate hit as a rookie, posting 49 points in 79 games.

In 1990-91, Cullen made an indelible impact on the Penguins’ history. He was among the NHL’s leading scorers in his third NHL season, and his career was rising. Cullen was up to 94 points in 65 games, and without him, the Penguins could have been outside the bunched Patrick Division playoff picture (The Penguins finished first, but only after a late rally when Lemieux returned in late January for 26 games).

However, during his great season, Cullen was then part of arguably the greatest trade in Penguins history when GM Craig Patrick traded Cullen, Zarley Zalapski, and Jeff Parker to the Hartford Whalers for Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson, and Grant Jennings.

Cullen played only 216 games in his first stint with the Penguins, notching 235 points, but his contributions on the ice and in the transaction log helped bring about that first, glorious, and magical Stanley Cup run, both on the ice and in the trade. He returned for one season later in his career, scoring 13 goals with 37 points in 1994-95 before retiring after the 1998-99 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tags:ben lovejoy casey DeSmith drew o’connor john cullen Zach Aston-Reese

Categorized:Penguins History Pittsburgh Penguins Top 5