The 2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season will be the 51st season for the National Hockey League ice hockey team, it will be the first season since the 2002–03 season in which the team will play without goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was drafted to the Vegas Golden Knights during which expansion draft conducted by the National Hockey League on June 18–20, 2017 to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 2017–18 season, the Vegas Golden Knights.?
2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season The 2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season will be the 51st season for the National Hockey League ice hockey team that was established on June 5, 1967. They will enter the season as two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. It will be the first season since the 2002–03 season in which the team will play without goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was drafted to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
Alexei Ponikarovsky Oleksiy Volodymyrovych "Alexei" Ponikarovsky (; born 9 April 1980) is a Ukrainian Canadian professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Ponikarovsky has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils, having originally been drafted in the third round, 87th overall, by the Maple Leafs at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.