To promote the NHL's return to Olympic Ice Hockey in 2026, the 4 Nations Face-Off replaced the 2025 NHL All-Star Game. Held from February 12-20, 2024, in Montreal and Boston, the round-robin tournament featured teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland. Each team had 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 3 goalies. Team Canada won the tournament, with Sidney Crosby as captain and Nathan MacKinnon named MVP after scoring the overtime-winning goal in the championship game. Team USA finished as runner-up despite having the most points in the tournament. The Pittsburgh Penguins had three players: Crosby, Erik Karlsson (Sweden), and Rickard Rakell (Sweden).

Jan. 31, 2025, the Penguins completed a trade with the Canucks following Vancouver’s game against Dallas at American Airlines Center. Pittsburgh acquired the New York Rangers’ 2025 first-round draft pick (conditional), forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, as well as 2024 third-round draft pick Melvin Fernstrom from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.

The QMJHL announced that starting this season, the Rookie of the Year winners will be awarded the Sidney Crosby trophy. Before making his NHL debut, Crosby played two seasons for the Océanic of the QMJHL after being selected as the first overall pick in the 2003 QMJHL Draft. Because of his significant impact on the league and his impressive resume, Crosby was the unanimous choice when the trophy committee met.

Just 48 hours after Tristan Jarry was placed on waivers and sent to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, Alex Nedeljkovic made history during the Jan. 17th game against the Buffalo Sabres. In the second period, Nedeljkovic recorded an assist by setting up forward Cody Glass for a goal. Later, in the final minutes of the game, Nedeljkovic scored a goal from the other side of the ice, becoming the first goalie in NHL history to record both a goal and an assist in the same game. Had Ned gotten into a fight, he would’ve been the first goalie to record a Gordie Howe hat trick – a feat that would likely never be replicated. Nedeljkovic became just the second goalie in Penguins history to score a goal, following Tristan Jarry, who did so last season. Only 16 goalies have lit the lamp in NHL history, amounting to a total of just 19 goals.