The Pittsburgh Penguins have put together a roster that already looks capable of making noise again in 2026-27, and general manager Kyle Dubas still has room to push it further.
Last season, the Penguins caught plenty of people around the NHL off guard by landing an Eastern Conference playoff seed. The finish did not match the original goal, but it did give the club a foundation to build on. After a strong offseason from Dubas, the group appears close to what he wants heading into opening night.
At forward, the Penguins’ current group includes Justin Brazeau, Egor Chinakhov, Sidney Crosby, Connor Dewar, Ben Kindel, Andrei Kuzmenko, Hendrix Lapierre, Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Tommy Novak, Rickard Rakell, Nick Robertson, Bryan Rust, and Elmer Soderblom. On defense, the team has Declan Carlisle, Samuel Girard, Ryan Graves, Erik Karlsson, Kaeden Korczak, Kris Letang, and Trevor van Riemsdyk. In goal, Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov are the names on the board.
It is a roster that can make people look twice. Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson remain the obvious headliners, but the strength of the group is in the collection of reliable two-way pieces around them.
Robertson is the newest addition up front, and he could end up being a major factor this season. Kuzmenko also has a chance to provide secondary scoring, especially in the second half when every point starts to carry more weight.
The blue line got deeper with the additions of Carlisle and Korczak, giving the Penguins a more rounded defense corps than they had before. That extra depth makes the group look underrated on paper.
The biggest uncertainty sits in net. Silovs and Murashov will be the tandem, and that is where the most attention will land.
Silovs showed well with the Vancouver Canucks and also played effectively for the Penguins in limited action last season. Murashov is expected to back him up after showing promise when he got his chances last year.
Dubas still has options if he wants to keep upgrading. He knows the Penguins already have a solid base, but he also knows that when a chance comes to improve the roster, it should not be ignored. Pittsburgh has $13.68 million in cap space, which leaves enough room to add two more players if the front office wants to keep shopping.
The names still available include Elias Pettersson, Patrick Kane, Eeli Tolvanen, Patrik Laine, and Vladimir Tarasenko. All of them bring offense, and each could strengthen the middle six.
This is also the part of the calendar when players may be willing to take a discount just to land on an NHL roster. Tolvanen, Pettersson, and Kane would be the biggest swings, and they could help at even strength and on the power play.
The Penguins do not have to make another move. But in a Metropolitan Division that will not give anyone much breathing room, every point matters.
One more addition, or even two, could change the outlook in a hurry. The clock is ticking if Dubas wants to add another forward, because those options will not stay on the market for long.
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