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[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Roster moves of former Penguin players

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

Seeing what happened to some former Pens in the latest off-season free agency carousel

Welcome to another summer Saturday. The dust is starting to settle on the initial burst of free agency and teams are gradually gearing down to settle into their summers prior to the start of another hockey season in the fall.

What has happened with some former Penguin players? Let’s check in on some:

NHL.com has a list of this season’s free agents:

Group 3 Unrestricted Free Agents: Kasper Bjorkqvist, Nathan Clurman (signed: MTL), Matt Grzelcyk, Marc Johnstone (signed: Toronto of AHL), Matt Nieto, Colton Poolman.

Group 6 Unrestricted Free Agents: Mac Hollowell (signed: Yaroslavl of Russia), Jimmy Huntington (signed: SJS), Filip Kral (signed: Brno of Czechia), Mathias Laferriere.

Unrestricted Free Agents (did not receive qualifying offer): Raivis Ansons (signed: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of AHL), Emil Bemstrom, Connor Dewar (re-signed), Taylor Gauthier (signed: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of AHL), P.O Joseph (signed: VAN), Philip Tomasino (re-signed).

There hasn’t been too much surprising activity - both Connor Dewar and Phil Tomasino came back to the Pens. P.O. Joseph signed a one-year deal at league minimum ($775k) to join Jim Rutherford, Patrik Alvin and company with the Canucks where he could be back in a 6/7 type of role.

Of this list, Conor Timmins remains a restricted free agent with Buffalo after the trade from June’s draft sent him there.

Otherwise, not much movement. Matt Grzelcyk has found the same market almost two weeks into free agency as he did at the NHL trade deadline with nothing to write home about. Given his assist totals, it’s a bit surprising he hasn’t caught on anywhere yet but given the tape he’s had in the last 12-16 months with Pittsburgh and Boston, then again it’s not that surprising.

Looking deeper into Penguins from longer in the past..

Anaheim​

—The Ducks reportedly were interested in signing John Tavares, before the former Toronto captain re-signed with the Leafs. So Anaheim switched gears and got Mikael Granlund signed to a three-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $7,000,000. The SJ/PIT Erik Karlsson trade didn’t work out for very many parties involved well, but Granlund sure was a winner to rack up a lot of points with the Sharks in a big role and play himself into a huge raise on this contract.

Carolina​

—Didn’t qualify Ty Smith, it looks like he remains as an unrestricted free agent. Smith could be on the Derrick Pouliot path of being a career AHLer. The Hurricanes also watched veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski go to free agency, where he also currently remains looking for his next stop.

Colorado​

—Said goodbye to short-time former Penguin (and short former Penguin) Matthew Phillips. Phillips went on to sign an AHL contract with San Diego.

Colorado also opted to not extend a qualifying offer to John Ludvig, who remains as a free agent.

Columbus​

—Is this the end of the line for Jack Johnson? Columbus let him go as a free agent, Johnson, 38, appeared in 41 games for the Blue Jackets last season.

Dallas​

—The Stars bid adieu to minor league goalie Magnus Hellberg. Hellberg has gone on to sign with Djurgarden of the Swedish league. The Stars also watched Cody Ceci go to free agency and cash in with a big contract with the Kings.

Edmonton​

—The Oilers gave a one-year contract to Kasperi Kapanen for 2025-26 worth $1.3 million to keep that party going.

Florida​

—The Panthers were the ones to sign Jesse Puljujarvi once the Pens cut him loose in the middle of last season. Puljujarvi played five regular season games (but none in the playoffs) and was with the AHL Charlotte Checkers in their deep playoff run this year. Puljujarvi decided to switch gears and is going overseas in 2025-26, signing with Geneve-Servette HC of Switzerland. So that’s how that story ends.

Los Angeles​

—Cody Ceci signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on July 1, 2025, with an average annual value (AAV) of $4.5 million. Brian Dumoulin signed a three-year contract with the Kings featuring a cap hit of $4,000,000. Ken Holland, ladies and gentlemen!

Minnesota​

—Marc-Andre Fleury has retired. Probably. Five teams called his agent to see if he wanted to stick to the retirement, but at this point the 40-year old looks ready to move into the next stages of his life beyond being an NHL goalie.

New Jersey​

—Cody Glass wasn’t qualified by the Devils, but they decided to bring him back just the same with a two-year contract that retains the $2.5 million cap hit he played under last year. Not a bad little career revitalization for Glass last year between his stints in Pittsburgh and New Jersey.

The Devils also moved on from Daniel Sprong, who remains a free agent. Sprong, 28, will be looking for his ninth different team if he catches on (though he only scored one goal and added three assists in 21 games combined between Seattle and NJ last season).

New York Rangers​

—Signed Pouliot to a two-year contract for league minimum with a nice downside guarantee. Pouliot, as mentioned, has become a great AHL level defender and has been valued by organizations to help out down the depth chart.

Ottawa​

—The Sens brought on Lars Eller with a one-year, $1.25 million contract, with an extra $1 million available in performance bonuses. Not a bad deal for the 36-year old veteran after he quietly fizzled out back in Washington last season following the Pens trading him there.

Philadelphia​

—The Penguin-related news was off the ice with the Flyers by picking up Rick Tocchet as their head coach and then hiring Todd Reirden to be an assistant.

San Jose​

—The Sharks re-signed Colin White to a one-year deal. Jan Rutta’s contract ended and he remains as a free agent.

Seattle​

—Signed Matt Murray to a one-year contract, $1.0 million contract to re-join Jason Botterill. Gotta like this as a sneaky way for Murray to set himself up, Philip Grubauer has been among the shakiest NHL goalies in the past few years and there’s got to be a good chance that Murray gets the opportunity to play NHL games next season for the Kraken at some point, even though he’s their No. 3 goalie in the organization.

St. Louis​

—In perhaps one of the few team-friendly free agent signings, the Blues made a nice piece of business by signing Nick Bjugstad to a a two-year contract with the St. Louis Blues with an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $1,750,000. Bjugstad had a tough season last year with Utah (19 points in 66 games) but is only one-year removed from having a 22 goal, 45 point season with Arizona back in 2023-24.

Tampa​

—Said goodbye to a few former Penguins, Anthony Angello became (and remains) a free agent. Conor Sheary approached the Lightning to dissolve the last year of his contract in 2025-26 after spending most of it in the AHL to seek a better opportunity. It hasn’t developed yet for him, he’s still a free agent, worked out well for Tampa to get to wipe a $2 million cap hit off their books.

Toronto​

—Let Alex Nylander go as a free agent. Nylander only played five NHL games last season (no points) and any magic from his shocking 11 goal in 23 game stint with Columbus in 2023-24 looks like it has dissipated as quickly as it came on.

Utah​

—The Mammoth went 1-2 with bringing one former Penguin in and watching two leave. Brandon Tanev, 33, signed a three-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $2,500,000, which isn’t the first time he was able to pull an impressive contract out of the UFA market. Bjugstad, as mentioned above, jumped to STL. And it looks like it might be the end of the road for 36-year old Robert Bortuzzo, who is now a free agent and was hinting at retirement at the end of the season.

Vegas​

—Reilly Smith signed a one-year contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on June 25, 2025, with an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $2,000,000 for the 2025-26 season. Nice for him, since Vegas is the place that he really wants to be after unsatisfying stints in Pittsburgh and New York.

Washington​

—Shortly after learning that Nik Ehlers didn’t want to play for them (ha ha), the Caps quickly shifted gears and announced that Anthony Beauvillier signed a two-year contract on July 3, 2025, that carries an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $2,750,000. That more than doubles Beauvillier’s salary from last season and gets him a second year as well and serves as another Penguin mid-career revitalization success story.

Winnipeg​

—Tanner Pearson signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1, 2025, with an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $1,000,000.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/12/24465890/roster-moves-of-former-penguin-players

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Friday Poll: Stay or go decisions, summer 2025

Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

Who should be staying and going this summer?

Well, we better get this Friday Poll in before something goes off and happens to make it unnecessary. Today’s topic, what to do in the trade market for the Penguins. Kyle Dubas and the Pens have the proverbial “for sale” sign out in the yard, they’re not going to move Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, but just about anyone else could be had by another team if the offer was right.

In several of those cases, the league won’t be lining up for the Tristan Jarry’s or Ryan Graves’ of the roster when it comes to their performance and hefty contracts. But several other names are at the top of mind when it comes to league-wide chatter about players that could be on the move.

Forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell fit the bill, both coming off career seasons and both having exceedingly manageable salary cap hits. Another benefit is that both Rakell and Rust have three years remaining on their contracts — better than shopping in the free agent market where even marginal players like Connor Brown and Tanner Jeannot can secure 4-5 years worth of term and stars like Nik Ehlers and Brad Marchand signed on for six. More yet, Brock Boeser inked for the max of seven and Mitch Marner signed-and-traded his way to Vegas with an eight year deal. The perk of picking up a Rust or Rakell is less than half the commitment in time to a large free agent deal.

And then there’s the Erik Karlsson situation. It hasn’t gone as well as anyone would have hoped, but Karlsson is still a player that can score double-digit goals, put up 50+ points and play 23+ minutes per game at this stage of his career, while moving the puck through the zone and skating with more burst than just about anyone. The biggest hindrance to Karlsson has been his contract, but even that is becoming more manageable with only two years to remaining, added to the fact the Penguins have all the space and motivation in the world to retain a big chunk of the $10 million in cost if it means sweetening the return.

It leads to an interesting position. So let’s get to the polls

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/11/24465724/friday-poll-stay-or-go-decisions-summer-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Feeder systems to NHL experiencing massive changes with alteration to CHL transfer agreement

Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

If it feels like everything is changing in the lower levels of hockey, it’s because it is

The feeder leagues for hockey are currently undergoing a seismic shift. The biggest ripple was felt earlier this week when presumed first overall 2026 pick Gavin McKenna left Western Canada and the WHL to join up with Penn State. McKenna, of course, was financially induced to do so based on the new rules and laws about collegiate players graying the lines well past any sense of amateurism and made junior players eligible to play at American colleges.

In the past, the CHL (composed of the WHL, OHL and QMJHL) have held a stranglehold on teenage Canadian talent. McKenna shattered that forever, but he was hardly the first or only one involved in the exodus. 2025 first rounder Jackson Smith will join McKenna at Penn State, as will OHL star Luke Misa. First rounders and high draft picks Cayden Lindstrom, Cole Reschny and Malcolm Spence are going south too.

It’s a brave new world. The CHL is further getting picked apart since the NHL had previously been hands off about taking junior-eligible players out of those ranks and turning them pro. By an NHL-CHL transfer agreement, currently CHL players not retained on the NHL roster must return to their junior team if they are under 20 years old (by December 31 of that season) or have not completed four seasons in junior hockey — which is why someone like Owen Pickering stayed in Swift Current through the spring 2024, despite being drafted in 2022.

That too is about to be a thing of the past with news that NHL teams will soon be able to designate one 19-year old to be AHL eligible.

Sources say a new provision in the CBA will allow each #NHL team to place one 19-year-old CHL player in the #AHL per season.

One per organization per season and 18-year-olds are ineligible.

Begins in 2026-27 season.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 10, 2025​

This rule starting in 2026-27 closes the door on Harrison Brunicke being AHL eligible this fall as a 19-year old, but 2025 first round pick like Ben Kindel, Bill Zonnon, Peyton Kettles or Travis Hayes could be in Wilkes-Barre as a teenager.

That opens up new doors for the pros for younger players, and also shows what dire straits the Canadian juniors as we know them are really in. Previously in draft-1, whether it was Connor Bedard or Sidney Crosby or Mario Lemieux, Canadian proteges were always playing in the Canadian junior system during their draft year. McKenna’s decision, as plenty of more quality players flee (seriously just look at the list) shows how much of a sea change there is ongoing right this very moment.

Lots of change to keep up with and monitor, for now there won’t be anything immediate but it does appear that the CHL is weakening with their hold on 17-19 year olds, which will be to the benefit of the AHL and NCAA ranks as these developments continue.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/11...ges-with-alteration-to-chl-transfer-agreement

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins will start 2025-26 on the road against Rangers, Mike Sullivan

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Penguins will start the season on the road and Mike Sullivan

The NHL announced the first day of the 2025-26 schedule will be Tuesday October 7th. The Penguins will be in action, seeing their old coach Mike Sullivan for the first time at his new home of Madison Square Garden.

The @NHL announced today the 2025-26 regular season will open on Tuesday, Oct. 7 with an opening night tripleheader broadcast exclusively on @ESPN in the U.S., and on @Sportsnet and @TVASports in Canada.

Details: https://t.co/WLxxY9oQtW pic.twitter.com/shEgb4FX9t

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) July 14, 2025​

From the league:

The National Hockey League (NHL) announced today the 2025-26 regular season will open on Tuesday, Oct. 7 with a tripleheader broadcast exclusively on ESPN in the U.S., and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

At 5 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks will face off against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Prior to the game, Florida will raise its second championship banner at Amerant Bank Arena.

Action continues at 8 p.m. ET, when the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the New York Rangers in a Metropolitan Division matchup at Madison Square Garden.

Then, at 10:30 p.m. ET, the Colorado Avalanche will visit the Los Angeles Kings in a Western Conference matchup at Crypto.com Arena.

The complete 2025-26 NHL regular-season schedule is set to be announced on Wednesday, July 16, at 1 p.m. ET. In addition, at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, NHL Network will air a one-hour special edition of NHL Tonight covering the schedule release, which will be hosted by Jamison Coyle, Mike Rupp and E.J. Hradek. The special edition programming will also stream on NHL.com. NHL Network will continue to break down the schedule during its regularly scheduled NHL Tonight show at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The season starts on October aa after a seven-game preseason schedule that runs from September 22nd - October 3rd. We’ll find out on Wednesday what dates and locations the Pens will be playing for the other days of the season, but night one should be some fireworks to see the team meet up against their old coach.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/14...-26-on-the-road-against-rangers-mike-sullivan

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins set to play three games in September prospects challenge

Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The 2025 Prospects Challenge will take place from September 11-15 in Buffalo.

Fans will get another look at some of the Penguins’ top prospects with a three-game event taking place this September in Buffalo, New York.

The Sabres announced the schedule of the annual Prospects Challenge on Monday.

We are headed to Buffalo for the annual Prospects Challenge this September! https://t.co/k8uTicj0hk

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 14, 2025​

Here’s a look at the dates and times for the three games the Pens’ prospects are set to play at LECOM Harborcenter’s KeyBank Rink in Buffalo.

---

Penguins’ 2025 Prospects Challenge Schedule​

Friday, Sept. 12

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 14

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 3:30 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 15

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres, 12 p.m.

---

The New Jersey Devils were also invited to the event.

The tournament will wrap up one week before the Penguins begin the 2025-26 preseason with a road game against the Montreal Canadiens.

The full rosters will be announced at a later date, according to the Sabres. The Penguins’ announced last year’s roster, featuring 14 forwards, eight defenseman and three goaltenders, on July 30.

The Pens finished the 2024 Prospects Challenge with an undefeated 3-0 record against the Bruins, Sabres and Senators. Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Avery Hayes and Tristan Broz were all standouts during last summer’s scrimmages.

Pittsburgh prospects also emerged from the 2023 event as unofficial champions after claiming a 2-1 record with a goal differential tie-break over the Sabres.

The 2025 edition of the challenge will allow the Penguins another look at some of the prospects the organization added during the 2025 draft picks. All 13 of the franchise’s selections, including first-rounders Ben Kindel, Bill Zonnon and Will Horcoff, were invited to the Penguins’ development camp earlier this month.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/15...-three-games-in-september-prospects-challenge

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Odds ‘n ends: Two important employees take promotions and leave Pens’ organization

Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

DeFazio, Army move up the ladder in their professions

Felt right to pair these two little updates together. Two members of the Penguin organization are leaving for new jobs with other teams. Long-time assistant equipment manager Paul DeFazio is going to Columbus to be their top equipment manager it was announced today, and yesterday it was announced that ECHL Wheeling coach Derek Army was moving onto become an AHL assistant coach with the Colorado Eagles.

Adding new talent to the Hockey Operations team!

Aron Augustitus has been promoted to video coach and Cam Briere, Paul DeFazio, Inar Treiguts, Ty Eigner and Anthony and Matthew Donskov join the organization in various roles.

https://t.co/ypdxLRg5GU pic.twitter.com/sQ6fxCp58m

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 15, 2025​

From the Blue Jackets:

DeFazio served in various capacities in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization for 27 years, including as an assistant equipment manager with the Penguins from 2018-25 as well as from 2001-13. He was also the head equipment manager of the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for five seasons from 2013-18

Coworker Jon Taglianetti got the Penguin job when long-time manager Dana Heinze retired in 2022. Columbus will now be hoping for the “Teddy Richards bump” from when Florida hired an assistant Penguin equipment manager and that’s worked out with Richards getting his name on the Stanley Cup a couple of times.

All the people in that role work so hard to keep the wheels turning and in place, the Pens will be different without DeFazio moving forward, but it certainly sounds like a great step for him to get the opportunity at that role in Columbus.

Sidney Crosby is class personified

(h/t @Aportzline) pic.twitter.com/Ml28CBM9qR

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) July 15, 2025​

There was another bittersweet departure from the organization as well:

BREAKING: Wheeling Nailers’ HC Derek Army has taken a new position with the @ColoradoEagles as their Assistant Coach

We wish him and his family good luck in this new chapter!

Read more here: https://t.co/vk2sOCvbKB#SteelTheMoment pic.twitter.com/SHXsOuN1A7

— x - Wheeling Nailers (@WheelingNailers) July 14, 2025​

Army, 34, has done great things at his role with Wheeling since 2021. He’s now promoted to work with — get this — head coach Mark Letestu who will be in charge of the AHL Colorado bench.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/15...s-take-promotions-and-leave-pens-organization

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

The biggest summer trades of the past for the Penguins

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Looking back at some big deals

As we sit around waiting for potentially another big Pittsburgh Penguin summer trade to unfold, why not go back through the history books and remember some other big trades in franchise history.

The summer is a great time for NHL teams to reshape their teams. The Penguins have been as active as anyone else, with results all over the map. All of Craig Patrick, Ray Shero and Jim Rutherford — the three Stanley Cup winning managers of the team — have made major moves in the summer. Some were smash success. Others...well not so much. No one gets ‘em all right in the end.

June 14, 1978: Dave Burrows for Randy Carlyle — Carlyle won the franchise’s only Norris Trophy to date and stuck around for six seasons.

June 16, 1990: A second round pick for Joe Mullen — the internet says Calgary was looking to move a 33-year old Mullen due to think his best days were behind him, and boy did that work out for the Pens. Good ol’ Slippery Rock Joe was fourth on the team in 1991 playoff goals and his 42-goal, 87-point season in 1991-92 helped position the Pens for a second Stanley Cup. He would go onto be in Pittsburgh as a player or coach through 2005-06 (save a 37-game stint in Boston in 1995-96).

July 29, 1994: Rick Tocchet and a second round pick for Luc Robitaille — For as big of an impact as Tocchet made, he was a Penguin for barely two years. By 1994, the Pens’ emerging dynasty was snuffed out and Pittsburgh had to switch gears and try some new things. That meant getting a little more skilled and less powerful with this trade, which the trade tree for this one ended up working out well for a while to come —as we’ll soon see.

August 31, 1995: Penguins trade Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson to New York Rangers for Sergei Zubov and Petr Nedved — You have to love and miss the frequency of trades in the ‘90s. It only took one year after getting a future Hall of Famer in Robitaille before the Pens traded him right back out. (As we’ll see, they’d move Zubov in one year as well, Nedved would hold out and be traded two years later for Alexei Kovalev). This was a great trade, the lasting memory of 1995-96 for the Pens is of the ‘Score Lords’ and then those damn rats, but Nedved put up a 99-point season that year. Robitaille would go onto get his mojo back in the late ‘90s and early 2000’s but was in the midst of a strange mid-career slump at this point (he only scored 23 goals and managed 69 points with the Rangers).

June 22, 1996 – Sergei Zubov for Kevin Hatcher — When the Pens said they wanted “Hatcher” back in order to send Zubov to Dallas, at first the Stars thought they meant Derian, their captain and best defender. Shockingly, it was Kevin that was the Pens’ target. Zubov and Mario Lemieux were oil and water so that had to be resolved, but it didn’t end up in the best way for Pittsburgh.

July 11, 2001: Penguins trade Jaromir Jagr to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek, Ross Lupaschuk and $5 million dollars — This one is like the Red Sox selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees (aside from the part where Jagr disappointed in Washington). The Pens had to make a move and did acquire three solid prospects, none of which ever truly amounted to much. The money helped the team stay alive, though, but was the start of some truly dark and uncertain days before the NHL had a salary cap or the Penguins had a functional modern arena.

June 22, 2012: Penguins trade Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes for a first-round draft pick, Brian Dumoulin, and Brandon Sutter — Staal remains beloved, but in hindsight it’s probably a good thing that he declined the Pens’ big contract offer. Fitting in under the cap and maintaining a deep team was a big problem that would have been worse if Staal had a huge cap hit too. Pittsburgh did well to get three pieces back, and of course the least heralded one at the time (Dumoulin) ended up being the longest-lasting and most impactful.

June 27, 2014: James Neal traded for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling — Jim Rutherford’s first major move was a step back in skill but set the tone of how he wanted to shape his team with the relentless drive of Hornqvist. This trade had a pretty decent “backfire” chance had Neal kept producing and Hornqvist was so freakin’ special but it ended up going well for the Pens, highlighted of course by Hornqvist scoring a Stanley Cup winning goal with a broken hand late in Game 6 IN Nashville (Neal had one goal, no assists in that series).

July 1, 2015: Penguins acquire Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first-round pick, Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Spaling, Scott Harrington, and a third-round pick — the trade that launched a thousand memes. For all the fervor surrounding Kessel and teammates or coaches or Toronto media members he drove crazy, for a few hours a day he was a quiet guy who just loved to play hockey (and was very good at it).

July 16, 2022: Penguins traded John Marino to the New Jersey Devils for Ty Smith and a 2023 3rd-round pick — This move was seen as a multi-faceted revamp of the Penguin defense (that also saw Mike Matheson traded to Montreal for Jeff Petry) and did not work out for the Pens. Smith only played nine NHL games with Pittsburgh, his career hitting reverse after making it to the NHL as a 20-year old with New Jersey in 2021. Pittsburgh was skittish about Marino and his big contract might have been stagnating, but it turned out not so good.

August 6, 2023: Penguins acquire Erik Karlsson (three‑team trade with San Jose and Montreal) — A messy trade with complicated feelings, which might be the best way to sum up a lot of Karlsson’s stint in Pittsburgh. It was a last gasp effort to jolt the Penguins back into contention. It didn’t work out, but not without the best of intentions or efforts.

August 22, 2024: Penguins traded forward Brayden Yager to the Winnipeg Jets for forward Rutger McGroarty — This will be a tremendous trade to watch develop in the future. Yager was Kyle Dubas’s first draft pick with Pittsburgh but was dealt for a more NHL ready and potentially slightly better overall prospect in McGroarty. But that last part is no guarantee one year out.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/7/16/24467791/the-biggest-summer-trades-of-the-past-for-the-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: No. 1 – Rutger McGroarty

The 2025 version of our Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25 countdown list concludes with the No. 1 player under the age of 25, one of the hopeful tentpoles of the next generation of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Rutger McGroarty.

Catch up on the previous entries for this year:

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
No. 25: Quinn Beauchense
No. 24: Cruz Lucius
No. 23: Travis Hayes
No. 22: Brady Peddle
No. 21: Finn Harding
No. 20: Sam Poulin
No. 19: Joona Vaisanen
No. 18: Avery Hayes
No. 17: Tanner Howe
No. 16: Tristan Broz
No. 15: Emil Pieniniemi
No. 14: Mikhail Ilyin
No. 13: Peyton Kettles
No. 12: Melvin Fernström
No. 11: Arturs Silovs
No. 10: Sergei Murashov
No. 9: Philip Tomasino
No. 8: Owen Pickering
No. 7: Joel Blomqvist
No. 6: Bill Zonnon
No. 5: Will Horcoff
No. 4: Ben Kindel
No. 3: Harrison Brunicke
No. 2: Ville Koivunen

#1: Rutger McGroarty, C/LW​

2024 Ranking: N/A​

Age: 21 (March 30, 2004)​

Acquired Via: Trade with Winnipeg Jets on Aug. 22, 2024​

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 205 pounds​

Elite Prospects resume:

Sports fans, understandably, aren’t always the biggest fans of rebuilds and the slow burn processes that come with tearing a team down to build it back up again.

That is where we find the 2025-26 Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that, by most indications, will not be vying for a playoff spot next spring, but rather a lucky ping pong ball bounce to accelerate a rebuild with a potential superstar successor to Sidney Crosby.

But even during these lean years, and the possible leaner years that may come once Crosby and company are gone, there are still bright spots that will shine through the team and players that are worth watching.

One of those players just may be 21-year-old Rutger McGroarty.

McGroarty made his NHL debut early in the 2024–25 season, appearing in a few games before being sent to the AHL to refine his game.

In the AHL, he registered 39 points in 60 games, but ended the year on a noticeable hot streak with 20 points in his last 24.

When recalled by Pittsburgh in late March, he made an immediate impact. Now seeing the ice alongside Crosby, he scored his first NHL goal against the St. Louis Blues, tying the game with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Reflecting on that experience, McGroarty said:

“I feel like at the end of the day, it’s just motivated me more to see that’s what I can do at that level, and I still have room to grow. I’ve been working my bag off trying to come into camp next year proving that I can play at this level for a full year and make an impact.”

While not projected to be a Crosby-esque force of nature, McGraorty figures to be a fixture in the Penguins’ top-six for years to come, thanks to traits like his leadership, competitiveness, and hockey smarts.

ATTA BOY, RUT!

Rutger McGroarty picks up his 1st NHL point with an assist on Rusty's goal pic.twitter.com/SIOBTIp4Vr

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 4, 2025

Scouting reports detail McGroarty’s ceiling as a prototypical power forward, noting his physicality, effectiveness in tight spaces and puck protection, but also his offensive prowess. Most see him projecting as a middle‑six winger who can occupy net‑front roles on the power play and provide secondary scoring.

Not a finished product yet​

New Penguins head coach Dan Muse, who McGroarty played under at the U18 level, has a reputation as a teacher and a coach who can effectively develop young NHL talent, which is what McGroarty will need if he’s to be relied upon as a more permanent fixture down the line.

Muse has been instrumental in McGroarty’s development to this point in his career, with the forward even saying as much.

“I think the first thing that stood out is just how much he cares about his players,” said McGroarty. “I think he’s very dedicated to the game and helping his team win. He put in really late hours and very early mornings. Like, it’s so cool to see. It makes it very easy to play for him.

“He’s such a detailed, awesome communicator and great coach,” McGroarty said. “I was a young guy that was getting called up, and they had a couple of different systems or whatever it was. He would talk to me about certain aspects of the game, stuff maybe within the system, he saw that would help me in the long run. Just a bunch of different things.

“I feel like he’s very dialed in, and he thinks that you can learn something from every day and get better every day. So, I think that he’ll fit very well into the culture that’s been set over the past 21 years that Sid’s been here and Malkin, and even the guys before them.”

The biggest knock on McGroarty has been his skating ability, more specifically, his foot speed. Working to improve his first few strides to separate from defenders and drive transition will be crucial for his development path.

McGroarty has shown impressive poise, hockey IQ, and a strong two-way game thus far. His development as a consistent scoring threat and possible penalty killer will be something to watch for this season.

At just 21, and with fewer than 10 NHL games under his belt, the sky remains the limit for one of the best forward prospects the Penguins have had in their system in some time.

We’ll soon see if he continues to share the ice with No. 87 and learns on the job as the Penguins brace for what could be another underperforming campaign.

But McGroarty’s continued development into a top-six winger could be one of those lone bright spots.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/pittsburg...-25-no-1-rutger-mcgroarty-penguins-nhl-hockey

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins get the preview treatment on nhl.com

Over at the NHL’s website they’ve been previewing a team each day. Today is the Penguins’ day, so let’s go ahead and look at the content they’ve cooked up.

Inside look at Pittsburgh Penguins https://t.co/3qP4UIvOOA

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 22, 2025

A nice general article on the off-season. If you’ve followed every move closely there’s not a ton of new information, but those who might have tuned out a little for the summer can get refreshed on a note or two on the weekend.

NHL EDGE stats leaders for Pittsburgh Penguins https://t.co/gcHi2ZBIOJ

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 22, 2025

The NHL’s Edge data is always fun to poke around with and see some analysis on. This one shows how much Crosby still has left in the tank with his great 2024-25 season. He’s lost some of his burst and rarely takes on 2-3 defenders on the rush like a younger player, but there’s still a lot of power and wisdom in his game that’s leading to strong skating and excellent chance generation.

Pittsburgh Penguins fantasy rankings, projections for 2025-26 https://t.co/D5YQxNfmV3

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 22, 2025

Are people still big into fantasy hockey? I’ve kinda dropped off on it lately, but that could be a personal thing. Some of those point projections are interesting, a 42-point season from Anthony Mantha would be most welcomed and a really, really good development for the Pens at the trade deadline.

Top prospects for Pittsburgh Penguins https://t.co/fUoAmLWdEJ

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 22, 2025

If nothing else it should be fun to watch youngsters like Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering and maybe Harrison Brunicke develop at the NHL level this season.

We’ll have more on the three questions tomorrow, for today the Pens get in the summer spotlight on the main page.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66638/penguins-get-the-preview-treatment-on-nhl-com

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Answering nhl.com’s three questions for the Penguins

They ask, we answer.

3 questions facing Pittsburgh Penguins https://t.co/yOSGnRANs5

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 22, 2025

1. Could this be it for Malkin?​

Evgeni Malkin, at 39 years old, is set for his 20th NHL season, the last on a four-year, $24.4 million contract he signed July 12, 2022.

The second-line center hasn’t publicly addressed his NHL future. On the Penguins’ end, general manager Kyle Dubas said a decision hasn’t been made.

“I talked to ‘Geno’ at the end of the year in the exit meeting and then followed up with him,” Dubas said. “I get it, it’s the last year of his contract and it’s been a topic of discussion. But with the way we’re going to approach it, we’re going to go into the year. Then, as I told Geno in his exit meeting, then (agent) J.P. Barry when it started to kind of gather some steam, we’ll meet at the international break, at the Olympic break this year, see where Geno’s at and then meet after the year.”

Realistically, the answer is most likely yes. There are only two forwards older than Malkin signed to the NHL this year (Corey Perry and Alex Ovechkin). Malkin is in the winter of his career, going from 83 points in 2022-23 to 67 in 2023-24 to just 50 points in 2024-25. Those 50 points went for .74 per game — good for the average player but by far the worst of Malkin’s career.

Could Malkin find a late wind, score 70 points in 70 games and help lead a feel-good comeback story for the Pens and everyone agree to keep it rolling for next year? It would make for a great story but isn’t grounded in reality at this point. All good things come to an end at some point, and the end is looking like this season for Malkin and the Pens.

2. Can Crosby continue to defy time?​

Crosby is still one of the better NHL centers after turning 38 on Aug. 7.

The longtime captain led Pittsburgh with 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) last season, reaching 90 points in a third straight season for the first time in his NHL career. He has averaged at least a point per game in each of his 20 seasons, passing Wayne Gretzky (19) for the most in NHL history.

For all the Penguins’ issues and problems, Crosby has been the safest of safe bets. He always performs, always adds his portion whether it’s in the faceoff circle, on the power play, or generating shots and chances for teammates. At some point, Father Time will win. And it’s troubling that at age-38, where Sid finds himself now, has often been the common age where even the all-time greats start taking a step back.

Still, would anyone in their right minds bet against Crosby recording at least a point per game for the 21st year in a row? He’s old, but still is as solid as ever. Call it inertia, call it being ready to peak his game for maximum sharpness in February for the Olympics, but here’s to betting Crosby’s age-38 season looks a lot like his age-37 year and a lot of the seasons that have come before it lately.

3. How does Muse follow Sullivan?​

Muse was hired as coach on June 4 to replace Sullivan, now coach of the New York Rangers, after winning the Stanley Cup twice in 10 seasons with the Penguins.

Sullivan is still considered one of the League’s best coaches. Dubas also views him that way, saying as much following the season and again after Sullivan parted from Pittsburgh on April 28.

But Muse, 43, could better fit the current climate in Pittsburgh. There’s an emphasis on looking to the future and developing young players without short-changing veterans.

The classic Dad answer to this question: very carefully.

The more nuanced answer: Muse will be a fun x-factor to unleash on the roster this year. Maybe it was complacency, but it was pretty stagnant at the end for Mike Sullivan and the Penguins. NHL coaches don’t usually last five years in one place, Sullivan completed a stint of almost a decade in Pittsburgh. Sometimes it is time for something new.

But new doesn’t always mean different. Muse could well be the next Mike Johnston — good hockey mind but best served developing players at lower levels and not capable of grasping the intricacies of the NHL game. Then again, Muse could be the next, rising star coach if he manages to freshen up the veterans on the Pens while also bringing along the youngsters. More likely, he’ll be somewhere in the middle to not be a complete bum like Johnston but perhaps not be launching a 25-year NHL coaching career either.

It’ll be interesting to see how that one goes. On one hand, Muse is in a tough situation: the Pens aren’t expected to be very good and coaches of teams starting a rebuild don’t usually make it out of the rebuild. Muse wasn’t exactly hired with the expectation of winning, but he still will be judged upon it to the degree that all pro coaches are held up by their record. On the other hand, it’s a no lose situation: if the Pens are bad again, there’s an unimpressive roster that will rightfully explain why. In some regards, the bar is low enough that it will be easier for Muse to impress than it will for him to preside over a disaster. (And even if it’s a disaster, that will mean a good place in the draft lottery and possibility of a good pick, which wouldn’t be the worst end result for this specific season either).

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66645/answering-nhl-coms-three-questions-for-the-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Reviewing the 2025 Top 25 Under 25

As another August draws down, so too does our annual feature on the Top 25 players in the Penguins’ organization this year. With Kyle Dubas’s focus on rebuilding the youth has kicked into full gear, so too has the excitement and promise of the list.

There are three spots to go, but no secret to keen observers who will fill them (letting the secret out for the rest if its even necessary, in alphabetical order still to be profiled this week are Harrison Brunicke, Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty).

Dubas’s impact on the organization is really starting to be seen within the pipeline, he famously made 13 draft picks in 2025, in part due to stocking up with the trades of veteran players like Cody Glass, Anthony Beauvillier, Kevin Hayes, Lars Eller and Reilly Smith, all of whom added to the draft pile this past year. There’s still more to come, the Pens already have at least one extra pick in the second and third round in 2026, 2027 AND 2028, and sometimes more — they own three second rounders in ‘26 and three thirds in ‘27, with plenty of time to add to that collection.

In all, in 26 months on the job, Dubas has about completely reworked the T25U25 list with his imprint. 21 of the 25 players, including eight of the top 10 and 13 of the top 15 were acquired by Dubas. Sam Poulin, who makes his last appearance on the list this year and Joel Blomqvist are the last “young” player vestiges of the Jim Rutherford era still remaining. Owen Pickering and Sergei Murashov are the only signs on this list that remain of the ill-fated Ron Hextall stint as Pens GM. The rest are all players that Dubas has drafted or acquired via trade in the past two years, which stopping to think is quite the turnaround and focus on stocking the organization up from the bottom and growing out.

This turnaround an influx in talent is reminiscent of how Ray Shero made a concerted effort in the early 2010’s to add to the prospect pool. That movement eventually brought the Pens players like Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Olli Maatta, Matt Murray, Teddy Blueger and Tristan Jarry — as well as some others like Tom Kuhnhackl, Scott Wilson and Josh Archibald that chipped in to help round out championship teams in 2016 and 2017. It will take several more years for the prospects and picks of today to turn into NHL caliber contributors, but Pittsburgh will certainly be working the developmental angles to help the list of today eventually turn into perhaps the next solid Penguin team years down the road as the youth movement continues.

In terms of tiers, there is a lot muddling the waters this year. There are a couple of older “young” players like Philip Tomasino and Arturs Silovs that will help in the short-term but have questions about their long-term impact for the organization. A broad sort of tiers could be seen as follows to help explain and understand the placement of the different players at different spots on this year’s list.

Tier 7: #22 – honorable mentions; Long-term prospects with some upside

Starting with Brady Peddle (22), Travis Hayes (23), Cruz Lucius (24) and Quinn Beauchesne (25) and stretching even deeper to players that didn’t quite make the list like Daniel Laatsch, Ryan Miller, Kalle Kangas and Charlie Tretheway this area sees players that are basically long-term fliers for NHL contributions. Several of these players are 2025 draftees and barely 18 and will need significant time and development in the next couple of years to get a sense of what the team might have. There could potentially be some NHL impact, but at this point one really has to squint and/or project some best case paths of development in order to see what might happen.

Tier 6: #15 – 21; Slightly more developed prospects still a ways away

There are a couple of young prospects like Tanner Howe (17), but the majority of this tier fits as players who are mostly going to be in the pros in 2025-26, and/or are 20+ years old and have their futures coming into focus a little bit more. For many in this tier, next season will be absolutely crucial to see how things go for players like Emil Pieniniemi (15), Tristan Broz (16), Avery Hayes (18) and Finn Harding (21) as they get measuring sticks to show where they are at and exactly how much of their upside could be reached. That means different things for different players, Pieniniemi and Harding would be well-served as rookies simply to retain spots in the AHL lineup next season, while others like Broz and Hayes are up a level and trying to make headway towards a spot in the NHL, showing that not all of the players linked within the same tier need to be at the exact same position, depending on the different stages of their own individual careers and journeys.

Tier 5: #12 – 14; Intrigue, but patience required

This might be one of the more interesting tiers, and 3-4 years from now could go a long way to determining how good the Pens’ youth looks depending on just how many pan out. Melvin Fernstrom (12), Peyton Kettles (13) and Mikhail Ilyin (14) have reason to be all a little bit more notable today than others found in the lower tiers, but none will be playing in the organization regularly in 2025-26. Fernstrom and Ilyin will be loaned to their respective European teams, Kettles returns to juniors. All need substantial growth and seasoning in their games, but have some intrigue for their talents. Fernstrom has a NHL level shot, Ilyin has the puck skills, Kettles has the size and nastiness to be an impact defender that made the Pens want to take him at 39th overall. If any of these players rise towards the top of the list in years to come as mid-level prospects that emerge, that would be a very, very good thing. None of these players are ones that the team is truly counting on right now to carry their future, but this is a sort of “lottery ticket” type of tier — if a few end up panning out in a positive way, the health of the organization will benefit greatly.

Tier 4: #9 -11; The wildcards

Tomasino (9) and Silovs (11), as mentioned, as very difficult to place within others that have much longer runways. Both of these players will do something for the NHL Penguins next season, but beyond that it’s unknown how much staying power either will show to have. They could be pieces of the puzzle moving ahead, they could wash out depending on how next season goes. Sergei Murashov (10) doesn’t truly fit into this tier in the same way as the other two, aside from being a 20-year old goalie that could certainly be considered a wildcard given the various paths young goalies get on. These players carry more value to the organization since they will contribute something in the immediate future. But just how long that will last is still up in the air at this point.

Tier 3: #7-8; Older, near ready players

It can be odd in some regards to designate Owen Pickering (8) as an “older” prospect at just 21 years old, but all nine of the defenseman drafted in the first round of 2022 have already made their NHL debuts. Many will be NHL regulars next season. It’s high time for Pickering to show that he’s ready to be in that mix, even while recognizing as second-year pro and young player that he still has time and room for further growth. Similarly, at 23, Joel Blomqvist (7) is getting close to a launch or fall inflection point after making his NHL debut last season. He won’t be a lost cause to stay in Wilkes-Barre and try again in 2026-27, but if he’s going to get it in gear and become a full-time NHL player it’s getting to be time to demonstrate that in the coming year.

Tier 2: #4-6; Recent first round picks

The three players that the Penguins drafted in the 2025 first round, Benjamin Kindel (4), Will Horcoff (5) and Bill Zonnon (6) are neatly tucked together in this tier. Similar to Tier 5, the future success/failure of the 2025 T25U25 list will largely hang in the balance of just how much these three grow and where they end up years down the line. Obviously just a few months after being drafted, there is justifiably high hopes for all at this point but it’s still going to require a lot of time and work to see how it goes for each one of them. Unlike Tier 5, these are players based on their draft position that the organization is counting on to turn into something. That doesn’t mean we should expect future NHL All-Stars or absolute core players, but the spotlight will be on these three to grow into some sort of big league contributors down the line.

Tier 1: #1 -3; Cream of the crop

We’ll have the profiles and exact ranking of the three this week, but it’s not jumping the gun too much to say that the trio of Brunicke, Koivunen and McGroarty are the most valuable and highest-profile three young Penguin properties in this moment. Brunicke’s rocket ship of a career path nearly had him make the NHL last year at just 18, and he will get a long look in camp to prove himself as one of the top-6 options on a not-very-quality Penguin blueline. Even if he doesn’t stick in the show for the whole season, the arrow is pointing up to reasonably expect big things in the near future. Similarly, barring some trades, it might not be out of the realm of possibilities to send either Koivunen or McGroarty back to the AHL for the start of the season but these two players will be integrating into the NHL lineup much sooner than later and become the first part of the next wave of young players as the Pens build.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/pittsburgh-penguins-prospe/66657/reviewing-the-2025-top-25-under-25

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Projecting the Penguins’ 2025-26 lineup

It’s the last Monday in a seemingly endless August, so let’s turn our attention to how the Penguins are presumably about to enter training camp in a couple of week. It was expected some more veterans would be shipped out this summer — but that hasn’t happened yet. Maybe it’s just around the corner, but for now we’ll go with what is on hand to project what the depth chart appears to be at this point.

Two top lines​

Rutger McGroarty – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Rickard Rakell – Evgeni Malkin – Ville Koivunen

That’s how the top-six looked in the last game before McGroarty broke his foot in April, so we’ll leave it like that for now. The cloud hanging over the Pens is a potential trade of Rust or Rakell for futures or a young player, in which free agent addition Anthony Mantha is waiting in the wings to jump into a scoring line.

The full-throated expectation of most people is that McGroarty and Koivunen will make the NHL lineup and be in a featured position right from Jump St., but another scenario that could play out is a soft camp for either sending them back to Wilkes to start the season. That gives the youngster a chance to work on his game and get a lot of minutes and still opens a door for Mantha to start out in a big position. Wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of that, however we’re not going to project it.

Lower forward lines​

Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Justin Brazeau

Admittedly this is more “what I hope it looks like” rather than “what it might actually look like” since aimless veterans like Noel Acciari, Kevin Hayes and Danton Heinen still linger on the edges and ready to steal a lineup spot. Pittsburgh can’t keep all of those players around, which is leading towards a real logjam if there isn’t going to be any trades prior to opening night.

On the surface, these forward lines are pretty fun. Mantha is the oldest player in the bunch, and even he is only 30-years old. It’s high time for some youth to get into the lineup, and everyone loves the lockerroom DJ (Hayes) or blood ‘n guts warrior (Acciari) but those guys just don’t have much of a place any longer.

Top-4 defense​

Kris Letang / Erik Karlsson
Parker Wotherspoon / Matt Dumba

We’re gonna get a little crazy on defense, because no matter how you slice it, coming up with an even semi-viable lineup it going to require some creativity and winging it with some wild ideas. Letang has major limitations at this point of his career, but has been surprisingly effective in penalty kill metrics in recent years, suggesting that he can simplify and play defense in the right mindset or occasion. A new coaching staff could impart a new direction on Letang, usually the trope is an offensive forwards becomes more of a two-way player at the end of his career, but why not angle that towards making Letang into the partner for Karlsson, who can still do most of the heavy lifting moving the puck (in an area of Letang’s game that is slowing mightily). There’s no perfect or even good solution, and maybe this ends up falling apart, but where else can you turn?

The second pair isn’t much to write home about either, Wotherspoon has been decent in a small role and the Pens need someone on the left side to step up, maybe it can be him. Dumba is no world beater at this point either, but maybe a change of scenery can help him recapture some magic that he hasn’t had since playing in Minnesota. That’s very wishful.

Lower pairs​

Ryan Shea / Harrison Brunicke
Owen Pickering / Connor Clifton

This outlook probably bumps Pickering down to WBS to start the season, maybe he can beat out Shea for a spot and rise up in the lineup during camp. Not listed, you might notice, is Ryan Graves, who we’re about completely done with. Maybe he proves differently in camp too, but at this point there’s no reason to hold our breath and expect much better than what has happened over the last two years.

The big takeaway is that I think Brunicke will make the team out of camp. Maybe the Pens get exceedingly bold and let him play with Pickering, but that potential future pair is still a little too green to pencil in for now. Shea is nothing special but is a 28-year old adult who has shown he can perform the basics of a third pair spot fairly reliably. If you’re thinking that’s not exactly top praise, you’d be correct, but it’s the smallest of places to hang your hat on and see how it goes for a while.

Clifton is one of those guys in September that you’ll say, “oh yeah, they picked him up, huh?”. So, there’s that.

Goalies​

Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs

Silovs needs waivers to go to the AHL and the Penguins presumably didn’t give up a draft pick for him this summer to immediately drop him out of the picture. That’s bad news for the immediate NHL outlook of Joel Blomqvist. Who knows what will happen with Jarry, but there’s pretty much no where to go besides up from a season that saw him banished to the AHL on two different occasions last year.

—

The big conditional of this exercise is that a trade could change everything, and immediately. In a perfect world, flipping Rust/Rakell for an actual good defenseman would bring a ton of balance to the Pens. That’s probably not going to happen but until that other shoe drops (and if it does) the above could be about what we’re looking at with only a few more weeks until training camp begins.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66661/projecting-the-penguins-2025-26-lineup

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

PensBurgh Top-25 Under 25: No. 3 Harrison Brunicke

Last year stoked expectations for 2024 second round pick Harrison Brunicke who is hoping to put together another solid training camp and make the Pittsburgh Penguins roster after almost doing so a year ago.

Catch up on the previous entries for this year:

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
No. 25: Quinn Beauchense
No. 24: Cruz Lucius
No. 23: Travis Hayes
No. 22: Brady Peddle
No. 21: Finn Harding
No. 20: Sam Poulin
No. 19: Joona Vaisanen
No. 18: Avery Hayes
No. 17: Tanner Howe
No. 16: Tristan Broz
No. 15: Emil Pieniniemi
No. 14: Mikhail Ilyin
No. 13: Peyton Kettles
No. 12: Melvin Fernström
No. 11: Arturs Silovs
No. 10: Sergei Murashov
No. 9: Phillip Tomasino
No. 8: Owen Pickering
No. 7: Joel Blomqvist
No. 6: Bill Zonnon
No. 5: Will Horcoff
No. 4: Ben Kindel

#3: Harrison Brunicke, D​

2024 Ranking: No. 10​

Age: 19 (May 8, 2006)​

Acquired Via: 2024 NHL Draft, 2nd Round, 44th Overall​

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 203 pounds​

Elite Prospects resume:

A strong training camp last season had Harrison Brunicke in the conversation to make the opening night roster for the 2024-25 season, at least for a nine game tryout, but in the end the numbers game pushed him out of the conversation and he was sent back to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL for another season at the junior level.

Although he ended up missing out on making the Penguins roster it boosted his stock and helped turn up the hype dial on the 2024 second round pick. Brunicke went from a nice prospect to have in the system to a possibly franchise type player in the matter of weeks and that expectation has now carried over.

Following his WHL season with the Blazers, Brunicke made his professional debut with the Wilke-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL, playing in 10 regular season games and both of the team’s playoff contests where he recorded a goal and an assist.

Brunicke hasn’t slowed down much this offseason, attending the Penguins annual prospect camp in July then being selected for Team Canada to participate in the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase. Brunicke spent most of the Showcase skating with Canada’s best players and featured on a top pairing alongside 2025 No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schafer in a game against Finland.

Coming so close to making the Penguins roster last season has only fueled Brunicke to make an even stronger push this time around. When training camp opens for the Penguins some time next month there will be a spotlight on the young defenseman to see if he can repeat his stellar performance from last season and make another real run at a roster spot.

From NHL.com:

“As far as my mindset and my play, my goal is to stay here this year,” Brunicke told NHL.com on the first day of prospect development camp. “So, I’m going to do whatever I can to make that happen.”

…

In his first camp, Brunicke did well enough to work alongside defenseman Marcus Pettersson for a bit before being sent back to Kamloops of the Western Hockey League.

…

“If you watch his games in Wilkes-Barre, there was growth,” Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. “Like, it took off. It was impressive how he grew and the games in the playoffs, he looked very confident for a young kid. So, we’re really excited about the potential he’s got to be a really good two-way defender with some offensive upside.”

“Credit to him, he figured it out quick,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk MacDonald said. “Came in initially and, you know, he had junior habits where you can just skate by people and hold on to the puck for a long time. I thought he did a really good job the last couple regular-season games. And in the playoff stint, he was moving pucks quick, jumping into the rush.”

During this summer’s prospect camp, Brunicke stood out among his peers, showcasing his elite talent that has him ranked among the best prospects in the Penguins system. His skating, already one of his best traits when he was drafted, has grown to another level while his all around game separates him from the pack.

From The Hockey News:

It is evident through just three days of the Penguins’ annual Prospect Development Camp that the young, smooth-skating blueliner is, simply, a level above everybody else. His skating – though it didn’t need much improvement – looks more explosive and even smoother than it did at this time last year. His puck handling skills and offensive instincts have been on display, too, and he’s been a mentor of sorts to some of the younger Penguins’ defensive prospects who are attending camp for the first time.

When Brunicke arrives at training camp, he will carry the expectations of both himself and the Penguins. What we don’t know right now is if those two sets of expectations are equal for the upcoming season. Brunicke obviously wants to make the opening night roster, but the numbers game may keep that from being possible unless he leaves the front office with no choice but to keep him after seeing him on the ice.

What complaints this situation even more is there are only two options for Brunicke this upcoming season. Play in the NHL or go back to Kamloops for another junior season. Being only 19 years old, Brunicke does not qualify to play in the AHL and since he has already inked his entry level contract, he cannot play at the collegiate level.

Brunicke is in that position where he may not be ready to be a full time NHL player just yet, but he’s well beyond playing at the junior level at this point. The AHL could be a perfect development step this season, but that option is not on the table. What happens to Brunike will be dependent on what happens in training camp and what the Penguins decide.

Whether he remains in Pittsburgh this season or not, Brunicke has firmly shown that he intends to be a part of the Penguins future for a long time to come.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/top-25-under-25/66651/pensburgh-top-25-under-25-no-3-harrison-brunicke

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Three nagging questions for the Penguins

Inspired by nhl.com’s piece about three questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins right now, we would turn attention to seek the answers to these questions.

#1: When is the other shoe going to drop on trades?​

This is a rhetorical question, since the answer is whenever a team calls Kyle Dubas and makes him an offer he likes to move on from Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson. But when will that be? Will Dubas need to adjust his ask, or should he be looking to accept less at this point? Where will Karlsson want to go, and who will want him? What will the Penguins get back in return?

Many expected the answers to at least some of these questions by this point in the summer, but here we still are. For about two months now we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it hasn’t happened. Is it going to before the season? Can it happen at the deadline? Will this limbo continue into next summer? No one can really say what the answer is at this point in time, but the question is there for the pondering just the same.

#2: What’s going to happen with the team’s ownership?​

Many outlets like the Post-Gazette and The Athletic are giving off the vibes that it’s a matter of when — and not if — Fenway Sports Group sells the Penguins to the the Hoffmann family. There’s still all the special qualifiers of “could” and “seems” and “feels” getting generously tossed out there due to the sensitive and private nature of a massive 10-figure negotiation, but all indications are that the Hoffmann’s and FSG are in deep discussion and advancing towards an announcement, possibly sooner than later.

Naturally, questions will turn to how the new ownership group will put their stamp on the franchise, if and when it gets to that point. Will they be OK with the significant off-ice investments that FSG has made in allowing Kyle Dubas to come on board and flesh out the organization? Or what about the slow and uncertain process of a rebuild that the team is only just in the opening stages? Lots of uncertainty, but at least the club is locked into its lease for 15 more years and the NHL has always been bound to wanting a healthy and thriving franchise in Pittsburgh.

#3: How much are the Pens going to get from young faces in the lineup?​

As far as the Penguins go, in six or eight months from now one of the biggest things I want to know is how did it go for the young players? Did Harrison Brunicke get a 9-game NHL stint then go dominate at World Juniors? Has Rutger McGroarty solidified himself as an NHL option? Are Brunicke and Ben Kindel gearing up to join Wilkes for an AHL playoff run? Are we going to get to see Ville Koivunen put up 50 points this year and become something of a Calder trophy candidate? Is Owen Pickering going to step up and become the team’s first legit homegrown defenseman in…way too long? Are we going to see NHL debuts for guys like Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes? How are things going to go for Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov heading into 2026-27?

It’s always going to be a Crosby/Malkin/Letang-centric team as long as the Big Three remain in town, but there are so many good little storylines and questions around the newer and younger faces that will be fascinating to see play out.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66672/three-nagging-questions-for-the-penguins

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: No. 2 – Ville Koivunen

Pensburgh’s Top 25 Under 25 countdown continues with Ville Koivunen, who made his NHL debut late last season and could be gearing up to play a full rookie campaign with the Penguins this fall.

Catch up on the previous entries for this year:

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
No. 25: Quinn Beauchense
No. 24: Cruz Lucius
No. 23: Travis Hayes
No. 22: Brady Peddle
No. 21: Finn Harding
No. 20: Sam Poulin
No. 19: Joona Vaisanen
No. 18: Avery Hayes
No. 17: Tanner Howe
No. 16: Tristan Broz
No. 15: Emil Pieniniemi
No. 14: Mikhail Ilyin
No. 13: Peyton Kettles
No. 12: Melvin Fernström
No. 11: Arturs Silovs
No. 10: Sergei Murashov
No. 9: Phillip Tomasino
No. 8: Owen Pickering
No. 7: Joel Blomqvist
No. 6: Bill Zonnon
No. 5: Will Horcoff
No. 4: Ben Kindel
No. 3: Harrison Brunicke

#2: Ville Koivunen, RW
2024 Ranking: No. 5
Age: 22 (June 13, 2003)
Acquired Via: Trade with Carolina
Hurricanes on March 7, 2024
Height/Weight: 6’0”, 172 pounds​

Elite Prospects resume:

“His game is one of pure, unrelenting skill, and an attacking mindset to match. Koivunen wants the puck on his stick, wants to be a game-breaker, wants to make something happen every shift. Koivunen keeps his top hand pushed out, handles the puck at his hip, and doesn’t mind engaging numbers.” —The Elite Prospects 2021 Draft Guide

Koivunen came to Pittsburgh as part of the package the Penguins received by trading Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes in March 2024.

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said last July that Koivunen was “one of their players we targeted very highly” when putting together the trade, per Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.

When asked to describe his game at the time, Koivunen said: “I’m a skillful guy in the offensive zone, so I like to make plays for my teammates and myself, too. Skating helped me a lot, using my strength.”

At the time, Koivunen had played two seasons in the Finnish Liiga but had just 12 games of AHL experience under his belt.

Penguins assistant GM Jason Spezza spoke about Koivunen’s transition to North American hockey at the time of the trade (h/t NHL.com’s Wes Crosby):

“I think he thinks the game at a very high level. I think he’s able to manipulate defenders with subtle movements. He’s very dangerous on the power play, coming downhill. … He’s able to make plays at a quick pace. I think the important part of development for him would be just getting the pace of his skating up, stronger.

“The rink closes on you a little quicker in the American League and the NHL. So we’ll help him with that transition. But with the hockey IQ, I think that’s the exciting part with us.”

That adjustment didn’t take long for Koivunen, who led the WBS Pens and ranked third among all rookies with 56 points (21-35—56) in 63 games of his first full AHL campaign.

UNLEASH THE VILLE pic.twitter.com/DmOhyY1ett

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 9, 2025

Koivunen was celebrated as the AHL Rookie of the Month in January after posting 14 points with two hat tricks in 12 games, and he was later named to the 2024-25 AHL All-Rookie Team in April as the first member of the organization to receive the honor since Joel Blomqvist in 2024.

He was called up for his AHL debut during a March 30 game against the Ottawa Senators, during which he registered two shots on goal but no points in 17:28 on the ice.

Head coach Mike Sullivan said at the time about calling up Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty (h/t Crechiolo): “My intention with players of this caliber is that we’re trying to set them up for success, and we’re also trying to put them in roles where they have an opportunity to play to their strengths. They’re different in how they play, but both of these guys have high hockey IQs. They’re both real competitive guys. They both have an offensive dimension to their game.”

A few more quotes on Koivunen from the time of his NHL call-up, per Crechiolo:

“I think he’s really smart, has a great hockey sense and has done a great job using it.” — Spezza

“You guys see what he does numbers-wise. But you guys don’t see the behind the scenes. He’s one of the first guys in the rink, one of the last guys to leave. He attacks every day. He works super hard, and it’s super cool to see him get this opportunity.” — McGroarty

“I think one of his most underrated skills is he’s not the biggest guy or the thickest guy, but he rarely loses a puck battle. He’s really hockey strong, he gets his nose over the puck, he’s fearless. For someone who’s supposed to be a skill guy, he’s in the battle all the time.” — WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald

Koivunen was a regular on the scoreboard with seven assists in his next seven NHL games while getting playing time alongside both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the Penguins’ top six.

FIRST NHL GOAL FOR RUTGER
FIRST NHL POINT FOR VILLE pic.twitter.com/q02wOvXjjD

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 4, 2025

Koivunen’s seven points in eight NHL games were the most by a Penguins rookie since Guentzel in 2016-17, according to Penguins PR.

After the season, Koivunen told Finnish media outlet Kaleva (translation h/t The Hockey News’ Valtteri Karjula) that playing alongside Crosby had been “a dream come true.”

“First thing Crosby said was to play to my strengths. He’s always been helpful whenever I’ve gone to ask something,” Koivunen told Kaleva, per Karjula.

Dubas indicated during his end-of-season press conference that McGroarty and Koivunen would get another shot on the Penguins’ top two lines during training camp.

“If those guys are able to maintain their performance— and they’re going to have ups and downs as young players, they still need to continue to improve on execution, habits, conditioning, strength, all those different items— but trying to stabilize that, I think, would only benefit the team,” Dubas said.

A strong training camp from Koivunen could earn him a regular roster spot, if not on Crosby’s line then in the Penguins’ middle six, as the Dubas prepares to give young players like Koivunen, McGroarty and Harrison Brunicke another look this fall.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/pittsburg...pensburgh-top-25-under-25-no-2-ville-koivunen

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins relaunching team Hall of Fame with PPG Paints Arena special exhibit

The Pittsburgh Penguins are relaunching the team’s Hall of Fame and will be inducting ten new players and builders who helped shape the franchise’s history.

The ten individuals will be inducted over the next three seasons.

The six players who are being added to the team’s Hall of Fame are Tom Barrasso, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Kunitz, Larry Murphy, and Kevin Stevens. The players are being joined by four builders — Scotty Bowman, Eddie Johnston, Jim Rutherford, and Ray Shero.

After 13 years, the Penguins Hall of Fame is BACK

Over the next three seasons, we'll celebrate 10 new inductees who helped shape Penguins history. Details: https://t.co/J3nr4mN3Jj pic.twitter.com/nZDBglUNJ9

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 26, 2025

“The Penguins are one of the most storied franchises in the history of the National Hockey League and permanently celebrating the success of our past players and personnel has been an important mission of our current staff all across the organization,” said Penguins President of Hockey Operation and Genera Manager Kyle Dubas. “The three-year plan is an effort to recognize those whose contributions laid the foundation for the championship standard here in Pittsburgh. It was a great honor, in my current role as the person tasked with helping to lead the Penguins back to Stanley Cup contention, to call the inductees and we look forward to unveiling the Hall of Fame display and celebrating with our players, fans and people of Pittsburgh.”

The Penguins’ original Hall of Fame ran intermittently between 1992 and 2013 and consists of 20 players, builders, and contributors, including Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Joe Mullen, Jean Pronovost, Rick Kehoe, Craig Patrick, Bob Johnson, and Mike Lange.

The team’s relaunched Hall of Fame will have a physical space on the main concourse level of PPG Paints Arena and the team will be having an on-ice ceremony to celebrate the 2025 class on Saturday, October 25.

Members of the team’s Hall of Fame will be selected by a voting committee made up of 21 members who are former players, coaches, general managers, broadcasters, club employees, and local media members.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/6...of-fame-with-ppg-paints-arena-special-exhibit

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins players with the most on the line in 2025-26

In a high stakes, ultra-competitive world like the NHL, EVERY year carries the utmost of importance. If a player blows it in a major way or suffers a devastating injury, that could be curtains for their careers with so many others nipping at their heels to take their spot. So in a nutshell, just about everyone puts everything on the line each and every year.

But some seasons are more critical than others. For many Penguin players, that is 2025-26. The list of impending free agents on Pittsburgh’s roster for next summer is crazy long. In fact, it’s much easier to say who IS under contract for 2+ more years rather than who is about to expire. That list of players who have at least a little bit of term is Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Tommy Novak, Justin Brazeau, Rutger McGroarty, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Ryan Graves, Parker Wotherspoon and Tristan Jarry. For everyone else, there’s some degree of decision time coming up when their contracts expire next year. Ironically, of course, it’s lost on no one that some of those players named above might not even be around if trades happen, potentially shrinking the list even further.

In the past, maybe only a player or two would have a ton on the line for a team like the Pens. Most players were locked in their roles and had the contracts to tie them to the team. Sure, their successes or failures on the ice would determine if the team rose or fell, but there was a lot of stability tied into the mix.

Nowadays, with the Pens becoming a younger and hungrier bunch, there’s not so much in the way of that comfort. By design, the Pens want to see which players will step out and perform, possibly playing themselves into the team’s future (or maybe, playing themselves out the door to be traded to a contender). Then again, in some situations the team looks content to let some veterans play their contracts out, get through this season and move on.

Who has the most on the line? Let’s come up with some names

Anthony Mantha — Mantha is the literal and immediate player with the most on the line this season for the Penguins, because he has up to $2 million in performance bonuses that he could achieve and nearly double his take-home pay. In that sense, no one has more to potentially gain from a big year. Beyond that, Mantha is at a crossroads now. He just turned 30. Arguably, teams have always been looking for that little bit extra out of him, whether it’s been a spark of intensity or consistency of effort to match his obvious skills and absolute ideal size. There’s also been some major bumps in the road for him lately, Mantha was traded to Vegas for the 2024 playoff run and played so poorly that he was made a healthy scratch. He followed that up by suffering a major knee injury at the beginning of last season with Calgary and has been out since November. At some point players run out of second chances, especially when they reach the point of being older than most of their peers. This probably won’t be Mantha’s last opportunity, but it could well be his last good one.

Danton Heinen — On reddit, a user semi-jokingly came up with the most average of all NHL players (last year it was Drew O’Connor!) Danton Heinen would probably fit that bill more often than not. Heinen isn’t bad, but he isn’t really good. He doesn’t have any standout skills or characteristics. He can play left wing or right wing. In a pinch he could kill penalties or jump out there on the power play, though you would have better options for either elsewhere. He’s just kinda there. But one of the more impressive things about Heinen’s career has been some staying power and ability to bounce back. His whole career is full of alternating ups and downs (great with Boston when he first broke in, then a drop off and forgettable stint in Anaheim…Great when picked up at first by Pittsburgh in 2021, then a drop in 2022….Great back with Boston in a second stint in 2023, then a fall with Vancouver in 2024.) Not terribly much is expected from Heinen, but he’s in a contract year and probably at risk at falling out of the picture now that the Pens have signed players like Mantha and Brazeau. That’s usually where, against all odds and perhaps logic, that Heinen has been at his best with surprisingly effective performances. Does he have one more up his sleeve for this season?

Philip Tomasino — Tomasino went from a promising player showing some upside and production last season to one that also frustrated and confounded coaches with his all-around play and occasionally attention to detail. It was a somewhat procedural and circumstantial move, but hard to miss that the Pens didn’t qualify Tomasino and let him get out to the open market to see what was out there, before he ended up agreeing to come back to Pittsburgh. It’s not like the team had to worry about paying him a few extra hundred thousand to fit under the cap, but they didn’t like him enough to guarantee retaining his rights. Tomasino could legitimately score 15-20 goals this season if he stayed healthy and played his way into being a part of the team, or it could go sideways and have a lot less of an impact than that. It’ll be a fascinating part of the story to watch unfold for how it goes for him.

Matt Dumba — You could easily tell which Pittsburgh media members had very outdated views on Dumba by how they reacted to the Dumba trade. Some, with no file since seemingly 2021, hailed the move as something that would help the Pens. But Dumba hasn’t actually helped an NHL team in quite some time, and the Pens will be his fourth stop since just the start of the 2023-24 season. Still, at age-31, does Dumba have anything left in the tank that can help an NHL team? The answer has been trending to “no” for a while now, but as a right shot defender with the ability to shoot the puck and play with an edge, you might as well give the benefit of the doubt to see what kind of redemption arc may play out. It’s been several years and defensive staffs ago since Pittsburgh was known as a place to give a mid-career boost to struggling defenders, and maybe that magic is dried up…But it’s worth watching to see if Dumba can play his way into any value with the Pens this year.

Arturs Silovs — Silovs is a goalie, so of course his level of play has been all over the place. He hasn’t been great in the NHL — except when he admirably performed well for the Canucks in the 2024 playoffs with a 5-5 record (which is more than Jarry’s two career NHL playoff wins). Silovs is coming off a fantastic performance in the AHL playoffs. Which, yeah, it’s the AHL and not NHL but can that be a launching point for an NHL career? There’s a lot for him to prove, but it’s at least a fresh gamble for the Pens to try and take, and they weren’t getting that good of performances out of the most recent backup goalie in the first place, so hey, why not? At this time in about ten months, Silovs might be free to the wind as a free agent that didn’t do much to establish himself, or he could be a semi-entrenched member of the Pens for 2026 if it goes well. The range of possibilities is very intriguing.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66688/penguins-players-with-the-most-on-the-line-in-2025-26

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Over/Under for the Pittsburgh Penguins young players this season

The 2025-26 NHL sesaon is rapidly approaching and that means it is time to start looking ahead to some projections for players on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster. Specifically, a return of our over/under looks.

We get those started today with a look at some of the Penguins youngest players on this year’s roster and what might be reasonable expectations for them.

Our over/under numbers were pretty accurate for the 2024-25 season, so let’s see how we do this season.

Ville Koivunen: Over/under: 20.5 assists​

Koivunen is one of the Penguins’ most intriguing and talented young players, and he figures to get an opportunity to play a prominent role this season.

The Penguins acquired him in the Jake Guentzel trade, and he has rapidly turned into one of their best prospects and young players. The 2024-25 season was his first full season in North America and it was an outstanding first impression.

He was one of the top rookies — and scorers in general — in the American Hockey League, recording 21 goals, 35 assists and 56 total points in 63 games. That performance eventually earned him a late-season look in the NHL where he recorded seven assists in eight games, while displaying promising creativity, vision and offensive instincts.

He is not going to main that same assist pace over an 82-game season, but he does have a chance to put up solid numbers given his skill and the fact he might have a chance to play next to some really talented players on the Penguins’ forward line.

There were only seven rookies in the NHL during the 2024-25 season that topped 20 assists over the course of the full season, while only four of them had more than 25 assists.

No matter how talented a young player is, and no matter what they do at the lower levels, there is usually a big adjustment period to the NHL and some struggles that come along with that. There is going to be some inconsistency and some dry spells.

I like his upside. I like his talent. I like his potential. I like for him to be a nice middle-six forward for a long time.

But what do you see for his first full season in the NHL?

Rutger McGroarty: Over/under: 15.5 goals​

McGroarty is the best young player in the Penguins system at this point, and like Koivunen is looking to get his first taste of extended NHL action following a promising debut in pro hockey during the 2024-25 season.

McGroarty scored 14 goals with 25 assists (39 total points) in 60 games in the American Hockey League, but those numbers do not totally paint the picture of how his season went.

It was a bumpy road for him in the first half of the season, at least in terms of his offense, and when you mix in some bad puck luck it really held his numbers back. But as the season progressed his production became way more consistent and impressive, and he eventually did enough to also earn a brief late-season look with the Penguins after an initial cup of coffee to open the season.

It was highly encouraging, even if the box score numbers (one goal, two assists) did not jump off the page at you.

Like Koivunen, you have to expect that there will be some rough patches and cold streaks for him.

Can he score more than 15 goals?

There were nine rookie forwards in the NHL that scored at least 15 goals during the 2024-25 season, so it is a pretty reasonable base-line expectation. If he can reach that level, or go above it, I would consider it a strong and encouraging rookie season.

Owen Pickering: Over/under 15.5 points​

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas really challenged Pickering this offseason, saying the young defenseman needed to have a strong summer and they need him to develop into a 20-minute per night player and not a 12-13 minute per night player. That’s a big challenge, but given the Penguins’ lack of long-term depth on the left side (and a lack of short-term depth) the opportunities are going to be there for him.

Even if/when Pickering does develop into that sort of player, offense does not figure to be a huge part of his game. At least not in the form of big point totals. If he can turn into a Brian Dumoulin type player that would be a strong development for the Penguins’ defense.

In 47 AHL games in 2024-25 he recorded 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) and also had one goal and two assists (three total points) in 25 games at the NHL level.

Given those numbers, and given that even if he does play a big role he is not likely to get a lot of power play time, there should be reasonable expectations put in place here. If he can give the Penguins 15 points and play a solid defensive game, that would be an encouraging development.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/pittsburg...pittsburgh-penguins-young-players-this-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Who should be next into the Penguins’ Hall of Fame?

The Penguins announced the newest members into their revived team Hall of Fame. The inductions will be spread out over the next three seasons, suggesting new members won’t be added on an annual basis.

The newest members are:

• Tom Barrasso
• Ron Francis
• Jaromir Jagr
• Chris Kunitz
• Larry Murphy
• Kevin Stevens
• Scotty Bowman
• Eddie Johnston
• Jim Rutherford
• Ray Shero

It sometimes gets lost in the shuffle but those names join the ones below, who have previously been named to the team’s HOF.

• Syl Apps
• Les Binkley
• Dave Burrows
• Paul Coffey
• Rick Kehoe
• Mario Lemieux
• Joe Mullen
• Jean Pronovost
• Mark Recchi
• Ulf Samuelsson
• Bob Johnson
• Craig Patrick
• Jack Riley
• Then a list of contributors: Dr. Charles Burke, A.T. Caggiano, Ed DeBartolo, Elaine Heufelder, Mike Lange, Vince Lascheid, Frank Scuilli

Now the question becomes, who should be next?

Marc-Andre Fleury – Duh. Easy one, only the self-imposed rule about being retired for a year prevents Fleury from going on, obviously he will be a part of whenever the next batch of inductees are named. Might as well space things out and give people something to look forward to down the line if it takes a few years to get there (and possibly have the announcement line up with a couple certain former teammates of Fleury’s) but of all the names out there this is by far the easiest.

Mike Sullivan – Jim Rutherford isn’t retired and was named to the Pens’ HOF, so why not Sullivan? He’s the leading coach in every category and the only Pens’ HC to win two Stanley Cups. The only debate about wanting to put him in while he’s a member of another organization can possibly slow this down, which is a pretty good point of emphasis to make. It’s one thing to put another team’s President of Hockey Ops in the Pens HOF, it’s another thing to put the sitting coach of a major rival..Time will heal whatever wounds might be out there once Sullivan gets more distance from the team.

Martin Straka – No Stanley Cups hurts the legacy — and maybe the chances since only 4/20 players (all pre-Mario) are in the Pens’ HOF without helping win a championship — but Straka ranks 12th in franchise history in points. That’s the highest player not inducted among currently eligible players, so he certainly has the bonafides. One of the most popular players for a generation of Pens’ fans, Straka would be a great pick for nostalgia.

Phil Kessel – Kessel only spent four seasons with the Pens from 2015-19, but few players were as magnetic, productive or successful. It’s not a big stretch to say that the latter two championships in the Crosby/Malkin era might not have happened without the 45 total points in 49 playoff games that Kessel chipped in during the 2016 and 2017 runs. A team’s individual HOF is about feeling and nostalgia more than raw numbers or pure contributions and Kessel’s popularity/legend status is worthy enough to make him a strong candidate to one day be honored by the Pens.

Sergei Gonchar – Gonchar’s case is similar to Kessel’s, a short-term Penguin (five years in this case) but one instrumental in raising the team’s level and being a major force in winning a championship. Besides Coffey and Letang, Gonchar might be the best defender that Pittsburgh has ever had. I’d say that’s enough to get in one day.

Bryan Trottier – Trottier was a key piece in putting the Pens over the top in ‘91 and ‘92 for the first Cup runs. He only spent three years as a player and then jumped behind the bench with four more years in Pittsburgh. The 1990’s Cup teams already have 10 players in the team’s HOF, but if they add another it should probably be the affable and influential Trotts.

John Barbero – Should be in as a contributor, the sound of his voice remains an imprint on the franchise.

For now that seems like a deep enough list for me, in the next few years the Crosby/Malkin/Letang wave of players can dominate and take over for a while too. There have been plenty of fan favorites over the years, from Alexei Kovalev to Pascal Dupuis and maybe some more that are worthy of discussion, let me know who you want to see in the Pens’ own Hall of Fame.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66713/who-should-be-next-into-the-penguins-hall-of-fame

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Which Penguin is most likely to win a league award this season?

Long gone are the days when the Penguins used to dominate the NHL Awards and clean up when it came to scoring titles and MVPs. Other than Kris Letang’s Masterton trophy in 2023 — the one award that most would probably rather not win since it implies dealing with a significant amount of pain/trauma along the way — the Pens haven’t had a major award win since Sidney Crosby took home the Rocket Richard (most goals) and Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) in the 2016-17 season.

Sad to say, but it looks like that streak will extend another season, there aren’t a lot of great candidates for awards coming out of Pittsburgh these days.

Could Dan Muse come out of no where to win the Jack Adams? That would be surprising, Muse is listed at +4000 in some betting areas to do so. The bar is low enough that a surprise playoff appearance would put him on the radar for at least consideration, but the chances of that actually happening are, well, you know.

One tasty area for gambling would be on the Calder trophy. Ville Koivunen is under the radar and seeing odds of +5000 up to +6250 to win rookie of the year. Considering Koivunen did great with the Pens’ star players last year and has a great opportunity to rack up some more points, this could be a good bet to make. Similarly, Rutger McGroarty is in the +4000 to +5000 range on a lot of books. There is no Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini this year as a former No. 1 overall pick that is going to dominate the attention and probably score 60+ points as a rookie (though Montreal’s Ivan Demidov is the clear preseason betting favorite at about +250 to +300ish to win, no other rookie has lower than +1000 odds). If the Pens are to win any awards — and that is a big if — a Calder run by Koivunen or McGroarty would be as good a guess as any at this point of the season.

Beyond that, it’s difficult to see much to bank on. Sidney Crosby finished 10th in NHL scoring last season, a very good year but 30 points off what Nikita Kucherov did. Similarly, Crosby’s Hart voting has fallen off as the team slips into being mediocre. Even Crosby’s once rising momentum for a Selke trophy has recently run out of steam over the last few years. Crosby may and will be one of the best players in the league still, but his days of winning awards look over.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66737/which-penguin-is-most-likely-to-win-a-league-award-this-season