The Penguins on Tuesday re-signed right-handed defenseman Jack St. Ivany to a three-year, two-way contract that runs through the 2026-27 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.
St. Ivany, who turns 25 in July, was set to become a restricted free agent this summer. He will be an unrestricted free agent when the contract expires.
St. Ivany will remain exempt from waivers to start next season, a status that's determined by a combination of his signing age and experience. He will become eligible for waivers either at the start of the 2025-26 season or after playing 46 more NHL games, whichever comes first.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound St. Ivany was originally a 2018 fourth-round pick of the Flyers under Ron Hextall. When St. Ivany went unsigned by the Flyers following his senior season at Boston College in 2022 and became a free agent, Hextall signed him to a two-year entry-level deal with the Penguins. St. Ivany spent his entire rookie professional season in 2022-23 in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, mainly on the third defense pairing but at times a healthy scratch. He made major strides in his sophomore season, earning top-pairing minutes on Wilkes-Barre's blue line before earning his first recall to the NHL in March.
St. Ivany finished the year in the NHL, recording one assist in 14 games and turning into a steady, physical presence on the Penguins' third defense pairing.
Kyle Dubas in his season-ending media availability named St. Ivany as one of the players he expects to contend for a regular NHL spot entering next season. With Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson locking up the top two spots on the right side, St. Ivany's primary competition for the third-pairing role on the right side would seem to be John Ludvig, who is under contract for another season. Ludvig is left-handed and naturally plays on the left side but has the ability to play on both sides of a pairing.
