The Penguins’ 2026-27 outlook comes with a familiar mix of uncertainty and optimism, and the team totals tell the story pretty cleanly. FanDuel has Pittsburgh at 88.5 points, with the club also listed at +1800 to win the Metropolitan Division, +3000 to win the Eastern Conference and +196 to make the playoffs.
An 88-point finish would mark an 11-point drop from 2025-26 and would almost certainly leave the Penguins on the outside looking in, especially with the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division both shaping up as tougher neighborhoods. That’s the baseline, at least. But there’s still a case for Pittsburgh beating it.
The roster is different, but not dramatically overhauled. Stuart Skinner, Anthony Mantha, Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, Kevin Hayes, Noel Acciari, Jack St.
Ivany and Connor Clifton are gone. In their place are Nicholas Robertson, Kaedan Korczak, Declan Carlile, Sergei Murashov, Andrei Kuzmenko and Trevor van Riemsdyk, along with the possibility of bigger, steadier roles for Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, Harrison Brunicke and Owen Pickering.
That’s part of why this team is such a difficult read. A year ago, the expectation around the league was that Pittsburgh would struggle badly.
Instead, the group found its footing, outperformed the projections and finished in a surprising Stanley Cup Playoff spot. This time, the setup is different - older core, more questions, fewer obvious answers - but not necessarily doomed.
There’s a real argument that some of the offseason additions fit what the Penguins needed. Robertson could take a step forward with more responsibility.
The blue line has a chance to be better defensively, especially with van Riemsdyk’s work in his own end and the smaller-sample promise from Carlile and Korczak. If the plan was to tighten up the back end, there’s at least a path to that happening on paper.
The biggest swing factor may be in goal, where Murashov could move the math in either direction depending on how he performs. That kind of uncertainty can lift a team or sink it.
Shootout results could matter too, because Pittsburgh has been brutal there. The Penguins are just 6-19 in shootouts over the last three seasons, including 3-10 last year. They haven’t posted a winning shootout record since 2020-21, when they went 3-1.
That matters because even a couple of extra shootout wins can nudge a team up the standings. The problem is that Pittsburgh hasn’t given itself much reason for confidence in that area.
Arturs Silovs struggled badly in shootouts last season, and the forward group hasn’t been much better. Andrei Kuzmenko is 5-for-15 in his career, while Nicholas Robertson has only two shootout attempts and missed both.
As for the points race, getting to 88 or more probably means landing around 40 wins, unless the Penguins once again pile up overtime and shootout losses. That’s not exactly a far-fetched scenario.
Over their last five 82-game seasons, their win totals have been 41, 34, 38, 40 and 46. They have also lost at least 12 overtime/shootout games in each of the past three seasons, including 16 a year ago, and at least 11 in each of the past five.
In Other News...
Penguins Offseason Overhaul Leaves One Big Roster Decision Looming
The Penguins summer has already brought the kind of overhaul that usually signals a new direction, with the front office spending the offseason reshaping the roster around a team that needs to stay relevant while retooling. In the broader NHL conversation, Pittsburgh is right in the middle of the leagues most consequential moves, with the front office weighing how much change is enough and how much risk comes with standing pat.
What makes this stretch particularly intriguing is that one major roster decision still hangs over everything else. The Penguins have already been active enough to make their intentions clear, but there is still a lingering question about how the final piece of the puzzle will fit, and whether the next move is about adding stability or creating even more turnover before camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Are Taking A Huge Risk In Net This Season
The Penguins are heading into the season with a netminding group that looks a lot different, and a lot less certain, after losing veteran Stuart Skinner in free agency. Instead, Pittsburgh is leaning on Sergei Murashov and Arturs ilovs, a pair of young goalies whose upside is intriguing but whose track record at the NHL level still leaves plenty of room for doubt. ilovs has already gotten a taste of the league, but he has not yet put together the kind of steady run teams usually want from a No. 1 option.
Murashov brings a different kind of hope after strong play in the AHL and a limited NHL look, which is enough to keep the Penguins interested but not enough to calm every concern. Joel Blomqvist sits behind them as a third-string option, giving Pittsburgh some depth on paper, but the larger question remains whether any of the three can handle the job if the season starts to tilt on what happens in the crease. [Read more 🡒]
Crosby And Ovechkin May Be Entering Their Final Chapter
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have spent more than two decades defining an era of the NHL, and for Penguins fans, it has always meant more than just a rivalry with Washington. Since both entered the league in the 2005-06 season, they have faced each other 101 times, with their matchups stretching from regular-season meetings to playoff battles that helped shape the sports modern identity. Even now, in their 22nd seasons, both remain production engines at a level that keeps them in the conversation with the games all-time greats.
Crosby has built his case around consistency and playmaking, sitting atop the NHLs assist list, while Ovechkin remains the leagues most prolific goal scorer with 929. Their career averages still read like something from a different generation, and yet the bigger question around them is no longer what they have done, but how much longer this can last. For Pittsburgh, the final chapters of this duel are about more than nostalgia - they are a reminder that the league may be nearing the end of one of its most enduring head-to-head storylines. [Read more 🡒]