The Penguins re-signed their first unrestricted free agent of the offseason, inking forward Boko Imama to a one-year, two-way deal worth the league-minimum $775,000.
Imama, 28, skated in 16 games at the NHL level last season and scored one goal before a biceps injury in practice ended his season and necessitated surgery. His recovery is going well, and he's already back in the gym in Montreal.
When I interviewed Kyle Dubas one-on-one at the combine last week and asked about the Penguins' pending restricted and unrestricted free agents, Imama was the one they already knew they wanted back.
"With Boko, we made it clear to him and his agent that we'd like to bring him back," Dubas told me. "It's just a matter of whether we can work something out with (Imama's agent) Allan Walsh and Boko.”
When Imama was named the Penguins' Masterton Trophy nominee last season for his perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, his teammates told me about how much Imama meant to the team.
"He has very hard, heavy hits," Rutger McGroarty told me. "He brings a lot of energy for the guys, and I definitely would say that the guys felt safer when he was there (in Wilkes-Barre). Not as many chirps were being thrown around by the other team."
"If you're going to be an idiot, then you have to answer to somebody," Ryan Graves said. "And when the somebody you have to answer to is Boko? You think more about it."
"You felt his presence on the ice," Alex Nedeljkovic added. "There's a couple of games there where his fights got us some momentum and turned things around for us. He made an impact every time he's been in the lineup. Hopefully he'll be back next year."
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
9:47 pm - 06.13.2025DowntownImama re-signed
The Penguins re-signed their first unrestricted free agent of the offseason, inking forward Boko Imama to a one-year, two-way deal worth the league-minimum $775,000.
Imama, 28, skated in 16 games at the NHL level last season and scored one goal before a biceps injury in practice ended his season and necessitated surgery. His recovery is going well, and he's already back in the gym in Montreal.
When I interviewed Kyle Dubas one-on-one at the combine last week and asked about the Penguins' pending restricted and unrestricted free agents, Imama was the one they already knew they wanted back.
"With Boko, we made it clear to him and his agent that we'd like to bring him back," Dubas told me. "It's just a matter of whether we can work something out with (Imama's agent) Allan Walsh and Boko.”
When Imama was named the Penguins' Masterton Trophy nominee last season for his perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, his teammates told me about how much Imama meant to the team.
"He has very hard, heavy hits," Rutger McGroarty told me. "He brings a lot of energy for the guys, and I definitely would say that the guys felt safer when he was there (in Wilkes-Barre). Not as many chirps were being thrown around by the other team."
"If you're going to be an idiot, then you have to answer to somebody," Ryan Graves said. "And when the somebody you have to answer to is Boko? You think more about it."
"You felt his presence on the ice," Alex Nedeljkovic added. "There's a couple of games there where his fights got us some momentum and turned things around for us. He made an impact every time he's been in the lineup. Hopefully he'll be back next year."
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