The Penguins’ roster churn since the start of the 2024-25 season has been hard to miss. What started with the Jake Guentzel trade at the 2024 deadline turned into a much bigger reshaping under general manager Kyle Dubas, and by now the list of players who appeared for Pittsburgh that season and are no longer in the organization has reached 29.
Not every departure has aged the same way. Some former Penguins have found new life.
Others have stalled out. A few have barely been heard from at all.
Matt Grzelcyk is a good example of how quickly things can go sideways. He produced 40 points in 82 games for Pittsburgh in 2024-25, then had a tough time landing a new job before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks. His return with Chicago was far quieter: 12 points in 69 games.
He wasn’t alone in sliding backward. Matt Nieto didn’t play hockey last season.
Emil Bemstrom went overseas. Jesse Puljujarvi asked out of his contract midway through the year, spent most of the season in the AHL, and only managed five games and one goal with the Florida Panthers before dominating the Swiss league last season.
Valtteri Puustinen followed a similar path after Pittsburgh traded him to Colorado for defenseman Ilya Solovyov in January, 2026. Solovyov is expected to be in the mix for an NHL role this fall, while Puustinen stayed in the AHL the rest of the season and has since signed in Sweden.
Philip Tomasino’s Pittsburgh run also ended in a hurry. After being sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Dubas dealt him to the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 31, 2025, for Egor Zamula.
Zamula refused to report to WBS, and the Penguins terminated his contract. Tomasino finished the season in the AHL and later signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Senators worth $900,000.
One of the strangest moves since Guentzel ended up helping the Penguins by subtraction. In December 2025, Dubas sent Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers for Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak.
Jarry struggled badly in Edmonton, posting an .858 save percentage in 19 games and is set to be part of a three-goalie rotation this season. Poulin, Pittsburgh’s 2019 first-round pick, never got a shot with Edmonton, stayed in the AHL, and has since signed a two-way deal with Montreal, where he is likely to play in Laval this year.
There have been some real success stories, though they’re not all headline-grabbers. Cody Glass may be the best of the bunch. The 27-year-old has settled in as an important piece for the New Jersey Devils, scoring 19 goals and 26 points last season, and he’s now entering the second year of a two-year, $5 million deal.
Then there’s Vincent Desharnais, who saw the biggest jump in salary after leaving Pittsburgh. This summer, he signed a four-year, $16.8 million contract with the Washington Capitals, more than doubling the $2 million he was making after the Penguins sent him to San Jose just 10 games after acquiring him during the ’24-25 season.
For the most part, though, the players who moved on have simply kept being themselves. Lars Eller remains the same hard-working bottom-six center, a 15-to-30 point player, and signed a one-year, $850,000 deal with Florida at age 37.
Michael Bunting is still putting up his usual mid-teen goal and 30-point production after Pittsburgh traded him to Nashville near the 2025 deadline for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn.
Anthony Beauvillier also held steady. After the Penguins traded him to Washington for a second-round pick at the 2025 deadline, he followed up his 13 goals and 20 points in 63 games for Pittsburgh with 15 goals and 28 points for the Capitals last season.
Drew O’Connor got more runway in Vancouver, but his numbers barely moved. Pittsburgh sent O’Connor and Marcus Pettersson to the Canucks for the New York Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick, Danton Heinen, and Desharnais. O’Connor set a new career high in goals, but only by one, finishing with 17 goals and 29 points.
Pettersson, meanwhile, kept doing what he always does: play steady, reliable defense. The Rangers picked him up last month for a 2030 first-round pick.
Heinen has stayed in the same familiar lane, too. He’s a useful depth forward who can bounce between the top six, bottom six, and the press box. Last season, he had five goals and 10 points in 33 games for Columbus, and he’ll remain with the Blue Jackets this season.
Alex Nedeljkovic kept his career on a stable track in San Jose, appearing in 40 games last season and finishing with a .896 save percentage for the improved Sharks.
Conor Timmins’ season in Buffalo was derailed by a fractured leg, limiting him to 39 games. Even so, that was still more than P.O Joseph, who played 31 games as a depth defenseman for Vancouver.
And for the record, Ponomarev played 55 games for Omsk Avangard and posted 25 points with 14 goals. Pittsburgh still owns his rights if he ever returns to North America, but he remains part of that group of 29 who are no longer with the organization.
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