Kaedan Korczak’s first season in Pittsburgh comes with a pretty clear job description: stabilize the back end, keep things tidy in his own zone, and give the Penguins a younger, cheaper right-shot option after a surprising June 30 trade.
The move sent Parker Wotherspoon to the Penguins’ trade partners after he put together a strong 2025-26 season in Pittsburgh. Wotherspoon spent time on the top pair with Erik Karlsson and developed solid chemistry there, but the Penguins appear to have decided he probably wasn’t going to take another step beyond that level in 2026-27. Korczak, by contrast, brings age, cost control, and defensive reliability.
Assistant general manager Jason Spezza made the team’s view of Korczak pretty plain in July.
"Korczak's a guy that we feel, with the age he's at, there's tons of upside there, a guy that fits in really well with that middle age group that we're really trying to acquire and has tons of potential," Spezza said. "Really solid defensively and lots of untapped potential."
Korczak is entering the first year of a four-year deal that carries a $3.25 million annual value, and the Penguins are betting that his game translates cleanly into a larger role. He debuted in the NHL in 2021-22, but he didn’t really settle in as a regular until the last couple of seasons. After appearing in 40 games in 2024-25, he jumped to 78 games last season and finished with three goals and 16 points.
What Pittsburgh is really buying here is steadiness. Korczak was rock-solid in his own end last year, and the numbers back that up.
He ranked in the 93rd percentile for 5v5 defense, and at even strength he was on the ice for 59.4% of the high-danger chances, 54.2% of the scoring chances, and 54.3% of the expected goals. That 59.4% high-danger chance mark was the best among all Golden Knights defensemen last season.
He does a lot of the unglamorous stuff well: breaking up plays, keeping proper gap control, and winning battles behind the net. He’s also useful in transition, which should help the Penguins play with a little more structure in their own zone.
There’s also a chance he sees more penalty-kill work. Korczak logged a little over 35 minutes there last season, which was a career high, and head coach Dan Muse could have a role in mind for him on that unit.
The expectation is that Korczak begins the year on the third pair, though a move up to the second pair is on the table if the opportunity opens. A third pair with Declan Carlile would be an interesting look, and Korczak alongside Pierre-Olivier Girard is another pairing that stands out.
That’s because Girard and Kris Letang didn’t click last season, largely because both were trying to do similar things, while Korczak and Girard would bring a cleaner balance. Girard leans much more toward offense, and Korczak would give him the kind of defensive support that could make that pairing work.
He may not pile up a big point total, but the Penguins aren’t bringing him in for that. They’re counting on him to make the team harder to play against in all the little ways that matter.
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