PITTSBURGH — As first impressions go, the Hoffmann family went top shelf Thursday at the new owners’ introductory news conference at PPG Paints Arena.

They talked a big game without coming across as arrogant or filled with bravado, they opened the door for Mario Lemieux to join them, and they made it clear that they intend on investing in the Penguins — and Pittsburgh — for generations to come.

Here are 10 observations from a significant day in Penguins history.

• Geoff Hoffmann, who will serve as governor and the face of Penguins ownership, wanted to alleviate any financial concerns that the fans may have.

While the Penguins have been financially stable since 2007, when it was announced that a new building had been approved, the franchise has filed for bankruptcy multiple times and flirted with leaving for other cities on numerous occasions.

Hoffmann said those days are over.

“It’s a storied franchise in a lot of different ways,” he said. “There have been some ups and downs on the business side of the organization. I’m here to tell you that has come to an end. This is not an investment for us. This is a commitment to a city, to an organization. The Penguins are going to be in Pittsburgh, and they’re always going to be in Pittsburgh as long as the Hoffmanns are a part of it. And the Hoffmanns plan to be a part of it for generations to come.”

• Mario Lemieux had a very icy relationship with Fenway Sports Group, the previous owners of the Penguins.

The Hoffmann family is well aware of that and wishes to have Lemieux involved in the organization as soon as possible. Hoffmann has already spent time with the 60-year-old living legend. Lemieux owned the Penguins from 1999 to 2021 after becoming one of the greatest players in history during his time on the ice in Pittsburgh (1984-97, 2000-2006).

“He’s been as good as advertised,” Hoffmann said of his time with Lemieux. “Just a great, great guy. I’m really hopeful that he will be a part of this in whatever way, shape or form makes sense for him. We would love for him to be a part of this. We know what he means to hockey, we know what he means to the Penguins, to the city, and to the NHL. Everyone will embrace him with open arms.”

• It’s been rumored for quite some time, and it seems inevitable that the Penguins’ ECHL affiliate is heading south. Wheeling has been the ECHL affiliate for the Penguins since 1998. However, the Hoffmann family owns the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and will continue to.

David Hoffmann, the family patriarch, chimed in when it was asked if the ECHL affiliate would change.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “They would run me out of Naples if we didn’t. There’s already people (there) wearing Penguins jerseys.”

• As reported by The Athletic earlier this week, the Penguins will continue to have their games broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh — which is operated by NESN and owned by Fenway Sports Group — for the 2026-27 season.

At that point, the contract expires.

Geoff Hoffmann said it remains unclear what will happen to the TV rights at that stage.

• Kyle Dubas and Dan Muse were on hand for the news conference, and they received quite a vote of confidence.

“We have the best GM and the best coach in the league,” Hoffmann said. “That work is done.”

The appeal of working with Dubas was something that drew the new owners to Pittsburgh.

“Kyle, we think, is a particularly talented executive,” Hoffmann said. “It was one of the things that attracted us to making this investment. We fully support him and his vision. We are prepared to give him the resources he needs to be as successful as we can possibly be as an organization.”

• Hoffmann was asked about how he plans on conducting himself as an owner. The Penguins have a history of low-profile owners. Even Lemieux, likely the most popular and beloved athlete in Pittsburgh history, was very much behind the scenes during his ownership days.

“I don’t think we’ll be quite like Jerry Jones, from a number of perspectives,” Hoffmann said with a laugh. “But we will absolutely be present. We aren’t going to micromanage the team. We’re going to bring in a president of business operations.”

FSG, while relatively well-liked by numerous Penguins employees, was based in Boston, and the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC are its crown jewels.

The Penguins are the crown jewel for their new owners.

“We bought a house,” said David Hoffmann, talking about a new residence in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. “It’s usually a good sign that you’re going to be here.”

Said Geoff Hoffmann: “We’re excited to be fixtures in the community here.”

• David Hoffmann was particularly entertaining and direct on the few occasions he spoke.

His son Geoff answered a question about the ongoing issues with development around PPG Paints Arena. The issues between the Penguins, the Hill District and the city of Pittsburgh have been going on long before PPG Paints Arena existed.

“Many stakeholders need to be heard and taken care of,” Geoff Hoffmann said. “We will have that discussion when the time is right.”

Then, his father took the microphone.

“Let me ask you something,” David Hoffmann said. “One of the things I notice coming here, the hotel situation doesn’t seem to fit with the demand or all of the great assets we have here. Greg (Geoff’s brother) runs our real estate portfolio and runs it very well. We’ve had lengthy discussions about it. Why isn’t there a better choice for more hotels here? A hotel close here, that’s maintained well, looks good, is an attraction where everyone wants to go? It just doesn’t seem with all you have got on — four sports teams, three colleges, a vibrant community — that you have enough hotels. We’re very interested in building a hotel here.”

• Expect some renovations in the near future for the 16-year-old PPG Paints Arena.

“We think with some improvements and modernizations, we can make it an elite fan experience,” Geoff Hoffmann said.

Hoffmann said he’s hoping that work will begin within 12-18 months, when, “we’ll start swinging hammers.”

David Hoffmann noted that the Penguins’ building was a strong selling point.

“This arena is a good deal for an owner,” he said. “It’s more than a fair deal. It would (cost) $1.2 to $1.4 billion (to build) today.”

It was built for around $320 million and opened in 2010.

“The least we can do is support it and make it as nice as it can be,” Hoffmann said.

• While the Hoffmann family very much intends to let Dubas do his thing, the word “winning” came up many times during the news conference.

“You (the fans) will win in Pittsburgh,” Hoffmann said. “We are committed to it.”

• Anyone can say the right thing at news conferences, so we will see how things unfold with the new ownership group.

I can tell you this much: I’ve spoken with a number of people in the organization who have gotten to know the Hoffmann family in recent days. The consensus is 100 percent positive.

As billionaires go, they came across as remarkably down-to-earth Thursday. Those in the Penguins organization who have been exposed to them are very impressed and believe the new ownership group is utterly sincere in its desire to win championships and impact Pittsburgh positively.

There’s a threat of tornadoes today as a cold front slowly works its way through our area.  The risk is low, with the Storm Prediction Center putting our chance at 2%. That’s the lowest chance (besides 0) on their daily risk map. We hardly ever reach the 5% threshold. 

The reason for our severe storm chance today is a cold front that will stall on top of us late this afternoon into the evening hours. We should have a couple of hours ahead of the storms with sunny skies that will allow potential energy to build. 

There looks to be just enough shear to mean we can’t rule out a quick spin up or two. Our tornado risk is low.

Looking at the overall severe weather chance, I open up the window for severe weather at around 2 p.m. and keep the window open through midnight. The front will arrive as what we call a short wave, which should arrive along I-80 at 2 p.m., and the line of storms will slowly work its way to the south. 

Storms that fire along the line, though, will be racing east. This means conditions can change rapidly. Any storm cells could have gusty winds and even some small hail. Frequent lightning should be expected with just how fast they’re going to be moving. Downpours should also be expected, but unless we see storms training over the same area, our flood risk looks fairly low today.

While we wait for the storms, the weather is going to be surprisingly comfortable. 

I have dew points in the low to moderate range all day long. It’ll be sunny heading into the afternoon. I have highs hitting the low 80s with comfortable weather in place through at least 3 p.m. in Pittsburgh. 

Morning temperatures dipped to the low 60s, with noon temperatures expected to be in the mid 70s.

Similar to today, most of Friday is expected to be dry. There will be another chance for rain on Friday, but rain doesn’t arrive until after 8 p.m. Friday highs should hit the upper 70s. Friday’s rain will stretch into Saturday morning, with rain continuing overnight and most rain ending before sunrise. 

I can’t rule out a scattered shower or two for the rest of the day on Saturday, but it’s looking pretty nice and dry. I have Saturday’s high hitting the low 80s, with highs going up to the mid-80s on Sunday. The area’s first heat wave of 2026 is now expected to arrive on Tuesday. 

I have highs in the 90s from Tuesday next week through at least Friday, with temperatures never dropping below 70° during that time period.

Two years ago, in his postseason press conference, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas specifically cited the Washington Capitals as one of two teams that were models for rebuilding without using the hockey equivalent of gasoline and matches to first burn it down.

On Wednesday, Washington completed their second big trade in two days, significantly bolstering their top two lines when they acquired Alex Tuch from the Buffalo Sabres in a sign-and-trade that netted Tuch an $84 million payday and Buffalo a mere third-round pick.

To this point, the Penguins and Washington rebuilds have followed similar paths, though Washington had a good head start.

In the last 24 months, each team has made the playoffs, and each team has seen its AHL affiliate go on an extended AHL playoff run. Washington surprised most by making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25, and the Penguins surprised most by making the playoffs in 2025-26.

However, it’s in the various states of rebuild that this week, Washington showed the advantage of that head start.

While Dubas stated he wanted to acquire a player aged in his later 20s who was an impact player, it was Washington who pulled the trick by acquiring high-scoring winger Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues.

Then, with their impact player in hand, Washington doubled down by executing a sign-and-trade with Buffalo for free-agent-to-be Tuch. Washington then lavished an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $10.5 million on the player who turned 30 last month.

A gritty winger, Tuch has scored at least 33 goals in three of the last four seasons as he found a greater role in Buffalo than his bottom-six duty in Vegas.

For those who remark that Tuch’s contract is expensive, don’t forget that the salary cap is going to spike again next season to something close to $113 million, and probably keep going up for years after that. Some estimates say it could be over $130 million in just a few years.

Today’s $10 million is tomorrow’s bargain, just like Rickard Rakell’s $5 million AAV Penguins contract was hefty when he signed it four years ago. Whether or not Tuch’s deal will age well is beside the point–half of the contract will be prime years, and a couple more should be quite serviceable. Washington can worry about 2034, many years from now, when that contract is less than 7% of the salary cap.

Indeed, Dubas had hoped to be able to acquire a Kyrou type. And if he did, a Tuch type would have made sense, too, because the Penguins have nothing in the middle. They have a bevy of 25 and under players, a few players who are at least 33, and still more three players who are 38 and older.

Jason Robertson remains unsigned in Dallas, and perhaps Dubas can leverage the farm for him, though plenty of teams are interested. The simple truth is that Washington was able to go big this year because they started a couple of years ahead of the Penguins. Dubas can play catch-up, but he’s not yet there.

And now Washington has made the huge leap forward. Their top nine is impressive with only two players 30 and older (Tom Wilson, 33, and Tuch, 30). They have four players who are 25 and under (and three were draft picks) with big-time potential who have already had some success in the NHL (Alieksai Protas, Ilya Protas, Ryan Leonard). And 24-year-old Justin Sourdif had 15 goals from the third line this season, too.

Oh, and they have Cole Hutson, thought to be a stud defenseman ready to make the leap. He had 10 points (3-7-10) in 14 NHL games at the end of the season after his Boston U campaign ended.

If Dubas tries to make the big splash, he very likely does not have enough trade capital to acquire a big name and have anything left. Yes, the Penguins have young players like Rutger McGroarty on the way, with Ben Kindel already here, but the depth and quality are not similar.

Yet.

It’s OK that Washington is ahead. It proves that Dubas is on a plausible path and lights the way. Penguins fans should also note that Washington didn’t spend assets too soon, and now they are packed with players under 30, most of whom are 25 and under, and they could easily (and should) send Alex Ovechkin’s call to voicemail when he wants to return.

Dubas was right to emulate Washington, and he would be right to do so when the time is right.

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