Pittsburgh Penguins
Eastern Conference - Metropolitan division
Predicted Finish: 5th
THE QUEST FOR YOUTH BEGINS, WHILE VETS REMAIN
The Penguins are now committed to getting younger, but did that happen this off-season?
Pittsburgh acquired forward Kevin Hayes from the St. Louis Blues, but he is 32 years old. Free agents Anthony Beauvillier, Blake Lizotte, Matt Grzelcyk and Sebastian Aho were also brought in, but none will be younger than 27 when the calendar turns to January. The Pens succeeded in adding to their prospects pool and accumulating more draft picks this off-season, but not much was done to help the current squad–led by ageless superstar Sidney Crosby. So, as the franchise has one eye towards the future, the hope for '24-25 is that better production from key players (namely defenseman Erik Karlsson) and a vastly improved power play can help get them back to the postseason.
The clock is ticking for this group.
Sidney Crosby
Forecasts
Centers
2024-25
Last 3 Seasons
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | S. Crosby, 37 | 80 | 37 | 53 | 90 | 1.13 | 82 / 1.15 | 82 / 1.13 | 69 / 1.22 | $ K |
| 33 | E. Malkin, 38 | 77 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 0.84 | 82 / 0.82 | 82 / 1.01 | 41 / 1.02 | |
| 101 | L. Eller, 35 | 82 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 0.30 | 82 / 0.38 | 84 / 0.27 | 72 / 0.43 | $ |
| 107 | B. Lizotte, 26 | 71 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 0.34 | 62 / 0.24 | 81 / 0.42 | 70 / 0.34 | + |
| 227 | C. Glass, 25 | 44 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 0.39 | 41 / 0.32 | 72 / 0.49 | 8 / 0.13 | + $ |
| 132 | V. Ponomarev*, 22 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0.45 | 2 / 1.00 | AHL | AHL | + $ |
Wingers
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | B. Rust, 32 | 71 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 0.86 | 62 / 0.90 | 81 / 0.57 | 60 / 0.97 | + |
| 78 | R. Rakell, 31 | 76 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 0.68 | 70 / 0.53 | 82 / 0.73 | 70 / 0.59 | + |
| 94 | M. Bunting, 29 | 82 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 0.57 | 81 / 0.68 | 82 / 0.60 | 79 / 0.80 | |
| 110 | D. O'Connor, 26 | 82 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 0.52 | 79 / 0.42 | 46 / 0.24 | 22 / 0.23 | $ |
| 138 | V. Puustinen, 25 | 74 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 0.49 | 52 / 0.38 | AHL | 1 / 1.00 | |
| 173 | R. McGroarty*, 20 | 75 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 0.37 | NCAA | NCAA | NTDP | |
| 186 | A. Beauvillier, 27 | 70 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 0.37 | 60 / 0.28 | 82 / 0.49 | 75 / 0.45 | + $ |
| 109 | K. Hayes, 32 | 74 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 0.30 | 79 / 0.37 | 81 / 0.67 | 48 / 0.65 |
Defensemen
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | E. Karlsson, 34 | 81 | 16 | 55 | 71 | 0.88 | 82 / 0.68 | 82 / 1.23 | 50 / 0.70 | |
| 25 | K. Letang, 37 | 75 | 9 | 39 | 48 | 0.64 | 82 / 0.62 | 64 / 0.64 | 78 / 0.87 | |
| 62 | M. Pettersson, 28 | 82 | 3 | 28 | 31 | 0.38 | 82 / 0.37 | 68 / 0.35 | 72 / 0.26 | $ |
| 117 | M. Grzelcyk, 30 | 78 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 0.26 | 63 / 0.17 | 75 / 0.35 | 73 / 0.33 | $ |
| 151 | R. Graves, 29 | 76 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 0.21 | 70 / 0.20 | 78 / 0.33 | 75 / 0.37 | + |
| 201 | J. St. Ivany, 25 | 72 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.11 | 14 / 0.07 | AHL | HE |
Goaltenders
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | W | SO | GAA | Sv% | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | T. Jarry, 29 | 46 | 23 | 3 | 2.85 | 0.907 | 51 / 19 | 47 / 24 | 58 / 34 | |
| 42 | A. Nedeljkovic, 28 | 34 | 16 | 1 | 2.99 | 0.9 | 38 / 18 | 15 / 5 | 59 / 20 | + |
Depth Chart
Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| M. Bunting |
C S. Crosby 1 |
B. Rust (LW) 3 |
| D. O'Connor | E. Malkin 1 | R. Rakell (RW) |
| A. Beauvillier (RW) | K. Hayes (C) | V. Puustinen (LW) 7 |
| R. McGroarty* | L. Eller (LW) | N. Acciari (C) |
| M. Nieto (RW) | B. Lizotte (LW) | J. Puljujarvi (LW) |
| V. Koivunen* (LW) | V. Ponomarev* (W) | C. Andonovski |
| J. Gruden* (C) | S. Poulin* (C) 1 | C. Glass |
| B. Imama | T. Broz* (LW) 2 | E. Bemstrom (LW) |
Defense |
Goaltender |
Notable Departures |
|---|---|---|
| E. Karlsson | T. Jarry 2 | J. Carter (Ret) |
| K. Letang 3 | A. Nedeljkovic | J. Frasca (T-Nas) |
| M. Pettersson | J. Blomqvist* 2 | J. Harkins (FA-Ana) |
| M. Grzelcyk | S. Murashov* 4 | V. Hinostroza (FA-Nas) |
| R. Graves | F. Larsson | P. Joseph (FA-StL) |
| J. St. Ivany | T. Gauthier* | X. Ouellet (FA-Europe) |
| S. Aho | F. Lindberg | L. Svejkovsky (T-TB) |
| J. Ludvig | B. Yager (T-Wpg) | |
| O. Pickering 1 | R. Zohorna (FA-Europe) | |
| F. Kral* | ||
| R. Shea |
Forecasts: *: Rookie; 
: injury concern; 
: contract year (UFA in 2025);
: Must-draft player Last 3 season stats: GP and PPG for skaters, GP and W for goalies; Rank is based on PPG or Ws compared to players in the same position. Age as of October 10, 2024.
Depth Chart: (Secondary Position); *: Rookie; 
: Team captain; Orange denotes off-season acquisition via free agency or trade; 1 to 9: Organizational draft pick with round selected.
Lines: Projected lines, pairs and units are for the majority of the season, not neccesarily opening night; 2023-24 Power Play TOI and G-A-PTS in parenthesis
Projected Lines/Pairs
Power Play Units
| Forwards | Defense |
|---|---|
| D. O'Connor - S. Crosby - B. Rust | M. Pettersson - E. Karlsson |
| M. Bunting - E. Malkin - R. Rakell | M. Grzelcyk - K. Letang |
| A. Beauvillier - K. Hayes - V. Puustinen | R. Graves - J. St. Ivany |
| R. McGroarty - L. Eller - N. Acciari |
| First Unit | Second Unit |
|---|---|
| S. Crosby (3:36, 10-13-23) | K. Letang (1:58, 0-5-5) |
| E. Malkin (3:25, 6-12-18) | L. Eller (1:29, 4-1-5) |
| E. Karlsson (3:31, 2-15-17) | K. Hayes (1:30, 0-5-5) |
| B. Rust (2:29, 3-6-9) | R. Rakell (2:23, 4-2-6) |
| M. Bunting (2:50, 7-14-21) | A. Beauvillier (1:08, 2-2-4) |