NHL Preview 2024-25 99 SportsForecaster.com

Forwards

Noel Acciari [RW/C]

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 209
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 55 4 3 7 -7 10 0.13
Career 532 68 55 123 -39 180 0.23
Forecast 66 6 8 14 - - 0.21

Spending most of 2023-24 as the Penguins' fourth-line center, Acciari was limited to just 55 games because of injury. He plays physically, blocks shots and can win face-offs. However, his ice time dipped below 13 minutes per game last campaign. Acciari's shortcomings are on offense, where he contributes little; he focuses on defense.

Anthony Beauvillier [LW/RW]

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 180
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Van/Chi/Nas 60 5 12 17 -8 8 0.28
Career 661 137 145 282 -8 129 0.43
Forecast 70 10 16 26 - - 0.37

The last player ever to score a goal at Nassau Coliseum (2021 playoffs) saw his offensive totals fall sharply while playing for three different squads last campaign. All that moving around reduced him from a useful middle-six winger to one whose playing time was way down. Although he rarely makes mistakes, he does not score too much.

Michael Bunting [LW]

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 197
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Car/Pit 81 19 36 55 -19 57 0.68
Career 372 102 134 236 2 328 0.63
Forecast 82 22 25 47 - - 0.57

The 29-year-old's scoring numbers took off last campaign after moving to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, and playing on the second line. He is known for his ability to get to the front of the net and make life miserable for goaltenders, especially on the power play. He is not a great skater or defender, which takes away some value.

Sidney Crosby [C]

  • Age: 37
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 200
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 82 42 52 94 7 40 1.15
Career 1379 643 1074 1717 197 882 1.25
Forecast 80 37 53 90 - - 1.13

Pittsburgh's captain remains among the NHL's elite forwards as he enters his 20th season. He put the Penguins on his back in 2023-24 and nearly carried them to a playoff berth with his eighth season of at least 90 points. His 42 goals were his most since 2016-17, and he has now evolved into a terrific two-way center and face-off man.

Lars Eller [C/LW]

  • Age: 35
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 207
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 82 15 16 31 -1 32 0.38
Career 1142 190 240 430 -35 641 0.38
Forecast 82 11 14 25 - - 0.30

The dependable Dane focuses on shutting down opponents as a bottom-six center and penalty killer, though he is also coming off a solid bounce-back campaign on offense (82 GP, 15-16-31). The 35-year-old Eller is a man of many hats; he is capable of playing up in the lineup if required and can also see time on both special teams units.

Kevin Hayes [LW/C]

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 217
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 79 13 16 29 0 12 0.37
Career 789 183 259 442 -37 227 0.56
Forecast 74 10 12 22 - - 0.30

Slow by today's NHL standards, Hayes saw his offensive totals drop nearly 50 percent from 2022-23 after the Blues brought him in as a veteran presence last year. He was even a healthy scratch three times down the stretch. His plus/minus rating improved, but his average ice time dropped radically. He needs to be way better in 2024-25.

Evgeni Malkin [C]

  • Age: 38
  • Ht: 6-5
  • Wt: 210
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 82 27 40 67 5 70 0.82
Career 1239 522 853 1375 33 1222 1.11
Forecast 77 21 44 65 - - 0.84

The future Hall of Famer enters NHL season 19 two goals away from 500, two assists from 800 and four points shy of 1,300. At age 38, Malkin is not the player he was in his prime but still plenty good enough to put up solid offensive totals. Still, he is coming off his first season with less than a point-per-game average since '10-11!

Rutger McGroarty [LW]

  • Age: 20
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 212
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
NCAA 36 16 36 52 17 6 1.44
Career 11 1 2 3 -1 0 0.27
Forecast 75 15 13 28 - - 0.37

It does not happen often, but McGroarty is a rare case of a top prospect who was critical of how the team that drafted him handles prospects. After a terrific sophomore season at the University of Michigan, the versatile forward believes he is ready for the rigors of the NHL. That said, McGroarty might see some time at the AHL level.

Drew O'Connor [LW]

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 209
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 79 16 17 33 14 20 0.42
Career 270 41 46 87 -9 88 0.32
Forecast 82 19 24 43 - - 0.52

Being moved to the No. 1 line after the trade deadline did wonders for O'Connor's offensive numbers last season: he set career highs across the board, although he sometimes struggled to finish off scoring chances. O'Connor averaged just nine seconds per game on the power play in 2023-24 but was a fixture on Pittsburgh's penalty kill.

Valtteri Puustinen [RW/LW]

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 5-9
  • Wt: 183
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 52 5 15 20 4 6 0.38
Career 66 7 17 24 2 10 0.36
Forecast 74 10 26 36 - - 0.49

The 25-year-old will try to build on a successful first full NHL season that saw him lead Penguins rookies in scoring in 2023-24. The 2019 seventh-round pick saw a fair amount of power-play ice time last season (1:26 PP TOI/GP). While Puustinen may not be a true game breaker, he will drive play and create high-danger scoring chances.

Rickard Rakell [LW/RW]

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 196
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 70 15 22 37 4 22 0.53
Career 811 239 288 527 -38 174 0.65
Forecast 76 24 28 52 - - 0.68

The veteran Swede will try to rebound from a '23-24 season that saw him go without a goal in his first 19 games. He finished with just 15 tallies, down almost 50 percent from 2022-23. He is a good playmaker and was effective in controlling opponents' shot attempts and scoring chances last season. Is he still a 30-goal man in the NHL?

Bryan Rust [RW/LW]

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 202
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 62 28 28 56 10 20 0.90
Career 663 211 247 458 39 213 0.69
Forecast 71 31 30 61 - - 0.86

Injuries that cost Rust 20 contests in '23-24 could not prevent him from setting a career high in goals and coming within two of matching his top points mark. The vast majority of his goals were scored from below the dots, not surprising for a player who excels around the net. Rust is also a regular contributor on both special teams.

Defensemen

Goaltenders

Ryan Graves

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 6-5
  • Wt: 222
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 70 3 11 14 10 30 0.20
Career 446 33 86 119 77 219 0.27
Forecast 76 2 14 16 - - 0.21

Graves looked like a square peg in a round hole for most of his first season in Pittsburgh. He is a good complementary defenseman, but he did not mesh well with either of the Penguins' star defensemen in '23-24. He saw his offensive numbers plunge and wound up on the third pairing–before a concussion late last March ended his season.

Matt Grzelcyk

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 180
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Bos 63 2 9 11 13 37 0.17
Career 556 26 153 179 136 267 0.32
Forecast 78 4 16 20 - - 0.26

The Boston-area native has spent his entire NHL career as a complementary defenseman, but his offensive production fell markedly last campaign. It was marred by injuries, illness and inconsistency. He plays a good transition game thanks to his ability to create easy zone exits, and is generally a positive partner for most blueliners.

Erik Karlsson

  • Age: 34
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 186
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 82 11 45 56 4 44 0.68
Career 1111 201 687 888 -117 496 0.80
Forecast 81 16 55 71 - - 0.88

Although Karlsson put up good offensive numbers in his first season with the Penguins, they were nowhere near his 101-point Norris Trophy–winning performance in 2022-23 with San Jose. His biggest struggles last season were on the power play, where he was expected to excel but wound up quarterbacking a unit that finished 30th (15.3%).

Kris Letang

  • Age: 37
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 201
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 82 10 41 51 13 62 0.62
Career 1188 177 608 785 88 817 0.66
Forecast 75 9 39 48 - - 0.64

The best defenseman in Penguins history is still productive as he enters his 18th NHL season. The 37-year-old hit double figures in goals in '23-24 (for the fifth time in six seasons) and registered his seventh straight season with at least 41 points. Letang averaged more than 24 minutes of ice time for the 14th consecutive campaign!

Marcus Pettersson

  • Age: 28
  • Ht: 6-5
  • Wt: 174
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 82 4 26 30 28 44 0.37
Career 551 19 148 167 87 345 0.30
Forecast 82 3 28 31 - - 0.38

The 28-year-old aims to build on his best NHL season, most of which saw him paired with fellow Swede Erik Karlsson. He had career highs in goals, assists and points; his plus-28 rating was twice as good as the next-best Penguin in 2023-24. Pettersson also led the Pens with 159 blocked shots and did a good job shutting down opponents.

Jack St. Ivany

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 198
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Pit 14 0 1 1 0 2 0.07
Career 33 0 2 2 -3 19 0.06
Forecast 72 2 6 8 - - 0.11

It took the 25-year-old four seasons in the NCAA and 117 games in the AHL to get to the NHL, but he wasted no time proving capable of playing against top-level forwards. His physical presence and one-on-one defending skills plugged some holes along the blueline. Offense is not his strength (only one assist in 14 NHL games in '23-24).

Tristan Jarry

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 201
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
Pit 51 19 25 5 6 2.91 0.903
Career 306 161 99 32 22 2.74 0.909
Forecast 46 23 - - 3 2.85 0.907

When Jarry was good in 2023-24, he was very good: his six shutouts were tied for the league lead. But by the final month of the campaign, the 29-year-old was spending most of his time watching rather than playing–his last start was March 22, and his last win came on March 14. Jarry was on the bench during the Pens' late-season surge.

Alex Nedeljkovic

  • Age: 28
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 203
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
Pit 38 18 7 7 1 2.97 0.902
Career 192 78 65 29 9 3 0.903
Forecast 34 16 - - 1 2.99 0.9

The 28-year-old Nedeljkovic almost carried Pittsburgh to a playoff berth by getting hot down the stretch in '23-24. He took over the No. 1 job in the last four weeks of the regular schedule and was 9-1-3 in his final 13 decisions. He displays tenacity in the crease area and has enough athleticism to come up with highlight-reel saves.