NHL training camps are right around the corner, and the Penguins are heading into that stretch with more questions than answers about their offseason work.
Pittsburgh did make a few moves, but not nearly enough to suggest a major shift in direction. After finishing second in the Metropolitan Division last season and getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, the Penguins are trying to stay in the mix in what looks like a tougher Eastern Conference. The issue is whether general manager Kyle Dubas has actually added enough to keep that going.
The most notable pickup was Andrei Kuzmenko, who signed a one-year deal on July 1. He spent last season with the Los Angeles Kings, playing 52 games and putting up 12 goals and 13 assists before surgery on a torn meniscus in February ended his regular season.
Kuzmenko’s NHL arrival was much louder, though - 39 goals and 35 assists in 81 games with the Vancouver Canucks. He has not reached that level again, but his skill set should still give Pittsburgh something it needs.
If he clicks alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins could get more out of him than other teams have.
Nicholas Robertson is another new face. Pittsburgh acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the 24-year-old delivered career-best numbers last season with 16 goals and 16 assists.
He has worked in limited minutes during his NHL career, but he has still shown useful depth scoring and brings a physical edge with a strong 5-on-5 game. The concerns are real, too: Robertson can get exposed in the defensive zone, and his zone exits are not clean.
Still, he fits the kind of player Dubas tends to target, and he should get a bigger opportunity this season. What he does with it will matter.
The Penguins also kept Egor Chinakhov in the fold, signing him to a three-year, $18.75 million contract on July 5. Chinakhov arrived in December 2025 and made an immediate impact, posting 18 goals and 18 assists in 43 games. He is a playmaker who is willing to shoot, and Pittsburgh will want to see what he looks like over a full season.
Not everything went Pittsburgh’s way, though. Anthony Mantha is gone after a big year in which he played 81 games, scored a career-high 33 goals and added 31 assists.
The New Jersey Devils signed him to a two-year, $9.5 million deal on July 15. Ryan Shea also departed after logging six goals and 29 assists in 80 games while averaging 18:53 per night and giving the Penguins a steady presence on defense.
Dubas did make a couple of smaller additions on the blue line in Trevor van Riemsdyk and Kaedan Korczak, but the roster still looks awfully close to what it was a year ago. Pittsburgh wants another playoff run, but the path is less forgiving now.
Kuzmenko brings upside, Robertson brings intrigue, and the younger players may need to carry more of the load as the rebuild keeps moving. Right now, though, it does not look like enough.
In Other News...
Penguins May Have Quietly Saved A Goalie Prospect Fans Forgot About
The Penguins switch from the Wheeling Nailers to the Florida Everblades was always going to have ripple effects beyond the ECHL standings, and one of the quieter ones came in goal. Pittsburgh has spent the summer reshaping its minor-league setup, and in the process it made sure a young netminder with some long-term intrigue did not get lost in the shuffle.
Gabriel D'Aigle had been with Wheeling, but the affiliate change gave the Penguins a chance to pull him back into their own system and keep him in the pipeline. For a team that already has goaltending depth to work with, it is the kind of low-profile move that can matter later, especially with D'Aigle still viewed as a developing prospect rather than someone close to NHL duty. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospect Caught In Another Strange Affiliate Ripple Effect
The Penguins ECHL shuffle has already produced one of those odd little roster ripples that follows an affiliation change. After Pittsburgh ended its long partnership with Wheeling and lined up Florida as its new ECHL home, the Nailers had to sort through a rights situation involving goalie prospect Gabriel DAigle, whose status had been preserved when Wheeling extended him a qualifying offer before the switch.
Wheeling has now moved on from that wrinkle, sending DAigle to clear the path created by the new affiliate setup and bringing back defenseman Hunter Sansbury in the deal. For Pittsburgh, it is another reminder that a change at the lower levels can reach well beyond the crease, especially when a young prospects rights are caught between old arrangements and a new organizational map. [Read more 🡒]
This Is Exactly The Defenseman Ducks Fans Have Been Waiting For
A recent podcast report has stirred the kind of early trade chatter that tends to follow a defenseman with a strong reputation and a little uncertainty around his current situation. Vladislav Gavrikov is still with the Rangers, but the discussion around him has centered on whether his fit in New York could become a bigger question if the teams direction slips, especially with the protection of a no-movement clause shaping any future move.
For the Penguins, the name is at least worth filing away. Pittsburgh was mentioned among the clubs that could make sense if Gavrikov ever became available, alongside Boston and Seattle, but nothing is close to happening right now. The bigger issue is whether the Rangers can quiet the noise before it turns into something more serious, because once a player with that kind of leverage starts weighing his options, the list of possible landing spots can tighten quickly. [Read more 🡒]