The Hoffmann Family of Companies now owns the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The question now is who will join them as the organization’s ECHL affiliate.
After Thursday’s introductory press conference, the heads of the new ownership group indicated that a change could be coming that would have an impact on the roster flexibility for both Penguins franchises.
Pittsburgh has been affiliated with the ECHL Wheeling Nailers for nearly three full decades, even slightly longer than the partnership with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which began play in the AHL back in 1999.
But Pittsburgh’s deal with Wheeling expires this summer. And the Hoffmans happen to already own an ECHL team, the highly successful Florida Everblades. As fate would have it, the Everblades will be in need of a new affiliate after the NHL’s St. Louis Blues officially announced a switch last Saturday.
Geoff Hoffmann, who will serve as the Penguins’ new representative on the NHL’s Board of Governors, said the family intends to keep ownership of the Everblades.
“We’re going through all those discussions right now, and we’ll have some more clarity on what happens at the (ECHL) level, I think, in the next couple of weeks,” Geoff Hoffmann told reporters in Pittsburgh at a press conference alongside family members David and Greg.
Asked directly if the Hoffmanns wanted Florida to become Pittsburgh’s new ECHL affiliate, the answer was clear.
“100%,” David Hoffmann told reporters in Pittsburgh. “I think they would run me out of Naples (Fla.) if they’re not. We already have people wearing Penguins jerseys at our camps, so I think there’s a high expectation level that’s going to happen. We want to.”
No decisions have been finalized.
While it makes business sense for the new owners to swap the Nailers for the Everblades, it could be less convenient for the hockey side of things. The Penguins are one of the rare organizations to have both of their farm teams within driving distance, allowing for players to quickly move when necessary. If a player gets injured at a morning skate and a call-up is needed, a replacement could potentially arrive in time for a game that night.
A change in affiliate could affect this dynamic for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in particular. Instead of call-ups driving from West Virginia to Wilkes-Barre, they would be flying in from southwest Florida.
Intermittent flights between the Everblades’ local airport in Fort Myers and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport are scheduled to begin in late November. The airport in Avoca currently has occasional flights arriving from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, both roughly a two-hour drive from the Everblades’ home.
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