This is the last hockey-free weekend before the Penguins’ prospects head to Detroit and get ready for their first game next Saturday, a soft launch for the 2026-27 season. Right now, it doesn’t appear the Red Wings have streaming broadcasts available outside their local Michigan/Ohio area, so there’s still some hope the Penguins can get it out to a wider audience or that Detroit relaxes those geographical restrictions.
Training camp still hasn’t been officially announced, but the team is already getting a head start in an informal way. A large portion of the roster has been skating together, with assistant coach Rich Clune running daily non-practice practices to shake off the rust. The prospects and staff headed to Detroit are finished with that work on the 15th, which makes a formal camp opening around the 16th the logical next step with that event coming up.
The preseason moves fast after that. Pittsburgh opens its four-game exhibition schedule at home against Buffalo on September 21st, then wraps the slate by the 26th before the regular season begins on the road in Philadelphia on Wednesday, September 30th.
For now, though, the hockey world is quiet on this final weekend before things get rolling. That’s at least better than what’s happening in Edmonton and Calgary, where news has already surfaced about expected training camp absences. One thing worth watching over the next 10 days or so is Sidney Crosby’s contract situation: he followed the 2024 pattern and extended before camp last year, but this time he could also choose to start the season with the final year of his deal still untouched, without signing for 2027-28.
With not much else on the board, it’s a good time to revisit some favorite summer pieces for anyone easing back into Penguins mode.
In Other News...
Penguins Fans Will Have Strong Opinions On This Perfect Player Debate
The idea of building a perfect player out of todays Penguins is the kind of thought experiment that always gets fans talking, because it asks them to separate favorite names from favorite traits. Sidney Crosby is the obvious starting point for hockey IQ, while Erik Karlsson brings the kind of vision that changes how a play develops before it fully exists. Add Bryan Rusts mentality and Evgeni Malkins knack for delivering in big moments, and the result already feels like a snapshot of why Pittsburghs stars have defined so much of the franchises recent identity.
What makes the exercise more fun is how quickly it becomes a debate over which skill matters most, not just which player is best. Kris Letangs athleticism belongs in the mix, Egor Chinakhov supplies shot and finishing ability, and Elmer Soderblom offers the size piece that rounds out the build. Even without a final answer, the argument says plenty about how Penguins fans see the roster now: as a collection of distinct strengths, each one worth borrowing for a different part of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Move Is Already Bigger Than A Routine Prospect Extension
The Penguins eight-year deal for prospect Ville Koivunen has already started to ripple beyond Pittsburgh, because it was the kind of commitment that other teams notice when they are weighing how to handle their own young talent. A move that might have looked routine on the surface suddenly feels like part of a larger conversation around how much value clubs are willing to lock in early, and it comes with the added backdrop of a market that is shifting around the league.
Elsewhere, the Canucks signing of defenseman Zeev Buium fit right into that same wide-ranging evaluation of prospect value, while the Red Wings were said to have asked for a top-line center in trade discussions involving Dylan Larkin. The Islanders have also admitted they are in a transition phase, and the Bruins used the 2025 NHL Draft to grab James Hagens sixth overall, all of which makes the Koivunen contract look less like a standalone decision and more like one more sign of how aggressively teams are trying to shape their future now. [Read more 🡒]