Taking A Look At The Revamped Future In Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins made what is considered by many the biggest move of the offseason. Trading for Erik Karlsson has changed the trajectory of their team for the next several years. Let's take a look at what their roster may look like heading into future years.
Penguins Offseason Additions
The NHL is a fast-paced league that can change at the drop of a hat. Heading into this offseason many around the league were wondering if the Penguins would blow up their core and start a rebuild.
Instead, Pittsburgh doubled down and acquired Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. They also added players like Ryan Graves and Reilly Smith to the mix as well.
2024-2025 Pittsburgh Penguins
All of the change this offseason has led to many wondering what the 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins could look like. One author for Pensburgh decided to take a crack at predicting the lineup. An author by the name of Hooks Orpik recently released this potential lineup for the Penguins in 2024-25:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Reilly Smith - Evgeni Malkin - ?
? - ? - Bryan Rust
Drew O'Connor - Lars Eller - Noel Acciari
Matt Nieto
Marcus Pettersson / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves / Kris Letang
P.O. Joseph / ?
Tristan Jarry
?
This lineup sees a lot of familiar faces coming back for another season in Pittsburgh. Reilly Smith is projected to be on a line with Evgeni Malkin. A 2022-23 breakout player Drew O'Connor factors into the lineup once again playing on the fourth line.
Filling In The Gaps
As for the question marks in the lineup, these could be filled by any number of players. As far as in-house solutions at forward players like Valtteri Puustinen, Brayden Yager, or Samuel Poulin could be ready for their NHL opportunity by this point.
On defense, former first-round picks Ty Smith and Owen Pickering feel like strong candidates. In goal, the Penguins have a strong prospect pool including the likes of Joel Blomqvist, Sergei Murashov, and Taylor Gauthier.
Of course, the Penguins could look to other teams for solutions as well. The 2024 free agent class is shaping up to be a good one that the Penguins could use to significantly improve their roster.
| POLL | ||
Will the Penguins make another big splash before the 2023-24 season is over? | ||
| Yes | 504 | 52.6 % |
| No | 455 | 47.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
