Penguins Sign Gabriel D’Aigle To Entry-Level Deal
The Penguins announced Saturday that they’ve signed goaltender Gabriel D’Aigle to an entry-level deal. It’s a three-year contract, although financial terms were not disclosed. The deal begins next season and will take him through the 2028-29 campaign. He will not join AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or ECHL Wheeling on a tryout yet. His junior season is still ongoing with the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, who play their final regular-season game today before heading to the playoffs.
D’Aigle, 19, is wrapping up what will likely be his fourth and final junior season with Victoriaville, although he could return next season as an overage player. That’s a rare path, though, and he’s more likely to begin his pro career with the Penguins organization next season, probably in the ECHL. A third-round pick in 2025, Pittsburgh had until next summer to sign him, but elects to do so now. His November birthday is early for his draft class and allowed him to get an extra season of CHL seasoning, so he’s considered an age-20 player next season in the junior league’s eyes and can turn pro without any restrictions.
The Quebec native was once viewed as arguably the top goaltending talent in his class. Coming in at 6’4″ and 212 lbs, he made Canada’s under-18 World Juniors roster as a double-underager in 2023, a team loaded with NHL talent like Macklin Celebrini, Matthew Wood, and Calum Ritchie. His stock was perpetually downhill from there, though. The QMJHL isn’t exactly a goalie/defense-friendly league, but even still, his numbers came in below average. He had just a .879 SV% in 25 games in 2023-24, and had a .883 SV% and a glaring 4.52 GAA in 55 outings as Victoriaville’s starter last season.
The Pens still saw some technical ceiling in D’Aigle’s game through that statistical noise, though, and made him the eighth goaltender off the board in last year’s draft. It looks like that may have been the right call. D’Aigle’s numbers have spiked here in 2025-26 behind a shoddy Victoriaville club, recording a .908 SV% and 3.58 GAA in 39 games with a 14-21-3 record. That save percentage is eighth in the league (min. 30 GP).
D’Aigle is Pittsburgh’s clear-cut #3 goalie prospect behind Sergey Murashov and Joel Blomqvist, though. Even if one of those two (likely Murashov) earns an NHL promotion next season if pending UFA Stuart Skinner departs, it’s rare to rush a young goalie drafted outside of the first round or two straight from juniors to an AHL role. Even top prospects coming out of juniors compared to NCAA or Europe – the Red Wings’ Sebastian Cossa is a recent example – get a year of ECHL seasoning to adjust to pro competition before landing an AHL role. D’Aigle won’t grade out any higher than #5 on Pittsburgh’s goaltending depth chart to start next season as a result.