Sam Girard enters the 2026-27 season in a spot that should put plenty of eyes on him. He’s in a contract year, and unrestricted free agency is coming for him for the first time. At 28, he’s already logged 608 NHL games, which says plenty about how long he’s been around and how much has already been asked of him from the blue line.
His time in Pittsburgh has been uneven, but not empty. In 20 games, Girard chipped in seven assists, a pace that would have put him in line for one of the stronger seasons of his career. The defensive side was less settled, with much of his work coming alongside Kris Letang.
Even so, Girard enters the year as the club’s most established left-shot defenseman. That label comes with an asterisk, because the group around him on the left side is thin, and even free agent addition Declan Carlile spent time in the AHL last season.
Jason Spezza said almost in passing during a summer press conference that Girard had been dealing with an injury late last season, which limited him. The team, Spezza added, is eager to have him back fresh and at 100% for the new year.
There’s plenty to like when Girard is moving well. He’s best known for what he can do with the puck, but he can also be sharp in his own end.
The flip side is that his game can drift when his IQ and footwork get a little too busy. He’s quick and skilled, but he sometimes leans too hard on a habit of using his legs to bait opponents in close, then spinning away to create space.
It can work, but it’s also a move he can go back to too often.
For the Penguins, the ask is straightforward: they need his best. Girard should have a real chance to skate with Letang again, and maybe even Erik Karlsson. However it lines up, he’s a major piece on a team that can’t afford to lose what he brings, especially with so little proven help on the left side.
That’s where the contract-year angle gets interesting. Girard has never been a huge point producer - his career high is 37 in 2022-23, and he also had 32 points in 48 games during the shortened 2021 season - but the setup in Pittsburgh could work in his favor.
The Penguins have shown they can get offense out of defenders who can move the puck and make clean exits, with Parker Wotherspoon’s 27 assists last year and Ryan Shea’s 29 as recent examples. Even the husk of Matt Grzelcyk managed 39 assists while mostly playing with Karlsson in 2024-25.
Girard has more talent in that area than those players, which gives him a path to a strong season at exactly the right time.
What comes after that is less clear. Pittsburgh has recently extended veterans like Tommy Novak and Blake Lizotte, and the club also gave Ville Koivunen eight years, so predicting the next move is no simple task.
Girard fits the kind of puck-moving, mobile defenseman Kyle Dubas tends to value, and he’s still not 30, so he doesn’t fit the old-defenseman bucket either. Whether he stays in Pittsburgh beyond 2026-27 may remain unsettled for a while, depending on how the season plays out.
For now, though, Girard stands out as one of the most important players to watch. The Penguins will be looking for the kind of smart, efficient plays that show up in the clip above, and they’ll need him to be a steady force on their blueline in 2026-27.
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Penguins Suddenly Have A New Question Behind Their Veteran Core
The Penguins have spent the offseason with the same familiar veterans at the center of everything, but the real intrigue now sits around the edges of that core. Nick Robertson, Declan Carlile, Ville Koivunen and Andrey Kuzmenko are among the players drawing the most attention as Pittsburgh looks ahead, each bringing a different mix of past performance, current standing and possible fit as the roster takes shape.
For a team built around stability up top, the questions are shifting to the supporting cast, where roster spots are not yet clearly settled and development still matters. Koivunens trajectory, Kuzmenkos role, Carliles push and Robertsons place in the mix all speak to a Penguins lineup that may look familiar in some areas while changing in others, and the uncertainty there could end up shaping more than just the final spots on the bench. [Read more 🡒]