Earlier this month, the Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Joe Veleno to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Andre Burakovsky. However, Veleno's time with the Kraken quickly came to an end, as he was bought out by Seattle a few days after the trade. With this, he is now an unrestricted free agent (UFA).

With the Pittsburgh Penguins needing help at the center position, Veleno is a player who they should seriously consider targeting. 

At 25 years old, Veleno is the kind of young forward who the retooling Penguins should take a chance on. While the 2018 first-round pick did not blossom into the top-six forward many expected him to be, he is still a solid bottom-six forward. With the bottom half of the Penguins' forward group needing a boost, Veleno could be worth taking a gamble on with a one-year, prove-it deal. 

In 74 games this past season split between the Detroit Red Wings and Blackhawks, Veleno posted eight goals, nine assists, and 139 hits. While his offensive numbers were low in 2024-25, he showed just back in 2023-24 with Detroit that he has the potential to provide decent secondary offensive production when playing at his best. During that campaign, he recorded career highs with 12 goals, 16 assists, and 28 points.

Nevertheless, it will be intriguing to see if the Penguins pursue Veleno on July 1. He would have the potential to give them more grit and offense in a bottom-six role, so he could be worth signing to a cheap deal. This is especially so when noting that he is still young enough that he could hit a new level in the right situation. 

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