THN Penguins' Predictions: What Will the Closing 23-Man Roster Look Like?

With a brand new season simply across the nook, the Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up for one more coaching camp.

However this time round – in contrast to in seasons previous – 2024-25 might be stuffed with surprises.

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As such, we’ll break down some storylines to count on this season and offer you some daring – and a few not-so-bold – predictions for the 2024-25 marketing campaign.

First up: Who will crack the Penguins’ 23-man roster for the Oct. 8 opening night time showdown towards the division rival New York Rangers?

Kelsey’s Prediction

Forwards:

Drew O’Connor – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rakell

Rutger McGroarty – Kevin Hayes – Cody Glass

Blake Lizotte – Lars Eller – Noel Acciari

Additional forwards: Valtteri Puustinen, Anthony Beauvillier

Defensemen:

Marcus Pettersson – Erik Karlsson

Matt Grzelcyk – Kris Letang

Ryan Graves – Nikolai Knyzhov

Additional defenseman: Sebastian Aho

Goaltenders:

Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic (splitting time)

Evaluation: If we’re going by what all the pieces appears to be like like proper now, I believe that is the opening night time roster for the Penguins. I would not rule out one other transfer to unencumber some extra cap house – or for a guy in Toronto who I’ve been tweeting and writing a whole lot about – but when this solid of characters is similar one we see all through camp, I believe that is the way it all shakes out.

I’ve a tough time seeing McGroarty beginning within the AHL this season. The Penguins basically swapped their high prospect for the Jets’ extra NHL-ready high prospect, which indicators to me that GM and POHO Kyle Dubas just isn’t solely rebuilding on the fly, however that he is also throwing all the pieces on the wall this season in hopes of being not less than semi-competitive. There is not a lot purpose to commerce a blue-chip prospect like Yager for McGroarty in any other case.

It is smart to ease him into an NHL position on the third line to start out, as O’Connor can maintain down the left-side spot simply positive for now (even when, ideally, he is enjoying on the third line).

Related: Predictions for Each Penguins’ Player in 2024-25

As for the defensive facet of issues, I believe my hottest take right here is Knyzhov. He has expertise with each Karlsson and new assistant coach David Quinn from his time in San Jose, and though accidents have derailed his previous couple of seasons, there’s some upside there. He and Aho can be serviceable sixth and seventh defensemen, and the Penguins do not have to stress an excessive amount of about monitoring their enjoying time.

Jack St. Ivany‘s, John Ludvig‘s, and Ryan Shea‘s two-way contracts make them simpler to ship between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), so I anticipate all of them beginning the season within the AHL. I do suppose St. Ivany pushes for a roster spot all through the season, however they will need him to get the constant ice time within the meantime.

Lastly, so far as goaltending: I nonetheless discover it notably fascinating that Jarry didn’t begin the meaningless remaining recreation of the season towards the Islanders and that they introduced again Nedeljkovic to start with. I count on Jarry to have a really brief leash and for the goaltenders to just about break up time till somebody has a agency grip on the beginning job.

Which – to be trustworthy – I am undecided that man is both of them. I believe that man will begin the yr in WBS, and we’ll see him quickly sufficient on the NHL roster.

Ryan’s Prediction

Forwards:

Drew O’Connor – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting – Evgeni Malkin – Rutger McGroarty

Cody Glass – Kevin Hayes – Rickard Rakell

Blake Lizotte – Lars Eller – Noel Acciari

Additional forwards: Valtteri Puustinen, Anthony Beauvillier

Defensemen:

Marcus Pettersson – Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves – Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk – Sebastian Aho

Additional defenseman: John Ludvig

Goaltenders:

Alex Nedeljkovic (1A) Tristan Jarry (1B)

Evaluation: If there’s something inevitable concerning the Penguins’ lineup, Crosby and Malkin are the highest two facilities. After these two names, it is a blended bag of names and performances, which makes each hardcore followers and informal ones interested by what is occurring with all these gamers.

Cody Glass needs to be Pittsburgh’s third-line heart, however what about Lars Eller?

As Kelsey identified, McGroarty has a fantastic shot of creating the opening night time roster, however will he instantly begin in a restricted bottom-six position, or will he be paired with future Corridor of Famers Malkin and Crosby?

The Penguins’ high 4 wingers are Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Michael Bunting, and O’Connor. No offense to any of them, however all of them appear interchangeable, so the highest line might have the vibes of “What have you ever carried out for me currently?” or “Who has one of the best chemistry with Crosby?”

Related: The Most Absurd Predictions for the Penguins’ 2024-2025 Season

The underside six is all however set with a handful of gamers on two-way offers. Regardless that Pittsburgh has but to supply any PTOs to forwards, some former 20-goal scorers on the market might come into camp and bump somebody out.

Furthermore, the Penguins’ high 4 defensemen are all however locked into their roles, with Marcus Pettersson, Erik Karlsson, Ryan Graves, and Kris Letang going to get essentially the most minutes.

That leaves two spots for newly acquired Matt Grzelcyk and Sebastian Aho to battle for. Sadly, neither skater is provided to play 70-80 video games at a excessive stage, so count on a rotation within the third pairing with a combination of NHL veterans and call-ups.

Lastly, goaltending goes to make or break the Penguins marketing campaign. Jarry is not the bonafide primary, and Nedeljkovic simply earned a contract extension, so he does not essentially must play lights out for his subsequent meal.

Nonetheless, Jarry is within the dialog for Canada on the 4 Nations Face-off, so the beginning of the season is his probability to show he’s elite.

Trying on the lineups from 2023-24 and the funds forward of 2024-25, it appears the Penguins will run it again with a core that hasn’t gotten the job carried out previously two campaigns. As talked about, when the opening night time roster is introduced, it might be a shock – or it might be the identical outdated tune.

Related: Will Vasily Ponomarev push for a roster spot?

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