The Pittsburgh Penguins have already spent much of the offseason reshaping their roster, and the additions have piled up quickly. Andrei Kuzmenko, Hendrix Lapierre, Nick Robertson, Kaedan Korczak, Declan Carlile and Trevor van Riemsdyk are all in the mix now after a busy summer for a team that got back into the playoffs last season.
Even with those moves, there’s still a case for one more depth addition on the blue line. Pittsburgh traded Parker Wotherspoon and lost Ryan Shea in free agency, which leaves room for another left-shot defenseman before the start of the 2026-27 season. That’s where Matt Grzelcyk comes into the picture.
Grzelcyk, a former Penguins defenseman, is still sitting among the unrestricted free agents, and he stands out as a name worth revisiting. If Pittsburgh were to bring him back, he would have a chance to battle for a spot on the bottom pair. And even if he wound up as the extra defenseman, he would still give the Penguins a veteran option they could lean on when injuries hit.
There’s also a pretty strong argument for the fit based on what Grzelcyk already did in Pittsburgh. In 2024-25, he had the best season of his NHL career with the Penguins. Over 82 games, he scored one goal and posted career highs with 39 assists and 40 points.
Given that production, it would make sense for Pittsburgh to at least consider another run with him. On a cheap one-year deal, the match could work for both sides.
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Penguins Blue Line Still Has One Problem Dubas Must Solve
The Penguins spent the offseason reshaping the blue line, and on paper the incoming group looks capable of handling the defensive side of the job. The deeper issue is balance, especially on the left, where the roster picture still feels unfinished even after the departures and additions that changed the look of the unit.
For now, Pittsburgh appears to have only one established NHL left-shot defenseman to lean on, which leaves Kyle Dubas with a real lineup puzzle before camp opens. There are internal candidates who could be asked to help, and there is always the possibility of a trade or a longer-term swing to fix it, but the current setup still leaves the defense looking less complete, and less balanced, than it did when last season ended. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Face A Defining Offseason Choice They Can't Delay
The Penguins are heading into the offseason with a roster puzzle that looks straightforward in a few places and murky everywhere else. Their top six up front appears mostly settled, but there is still real uncertainty about where Justin Brazeau fits and whether one of the current forwards gets nudged out to make room. Behind that, the organization has to decide how aggressively it wants to push younger options into the mix, with Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes and Hendrix Lapierre all sitting in that uneasy space between future piece and roster squeeze.
On defense, the questions are just as pointed, especially when it comes to how much the coaching staff can lean on certain pairings and whether the group is actually built to handle the heavier minutes it will be asked to absorb. The bigger issue may be philosophical as much as tactical: for all the talk about getting younger under Dan Muse, the lineup still carries a lot of age and a thin margin for error in the areas that usually decide close games. The Penguins can talk about depth and competition, but until they sort out the forward logjam and the back end, the roster still feels like one that needs answers more than optimism. [Read more 🡒]