Mike Sullivan Makes Major Roster Announcements Ahead of Final Game of the Season

After plenty of struggles for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2024/25, their season wraps up on Thursday with a matchup against the Washington Capitals, and although they've got nothing to play for, this game could still be important for them.

This will give some of their young names another opportunity to play at the NHL level, and now Mike Sullivan has given some updates on what the lineup could look like for Game 82.

Firstly, he has confirmed that it will be Alex Nedeljkovic in net for the season finale, with Kevin Hayes, who has been out of practice the last few days considered a game-time option for the Penguins after not participating in practice on Thursday.

Then, there's Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who return to practice recently after missing significant time in recent months, but unfortunately, he will not get to play another game this season as he officially remains on Injured Reserve to end the 2024/25 campaign.

The final and most intriguing note from Sullivan is that the team is considering going with 11 forwards and seven defenseman for the game, and while it's unclear what that would look like, it could be a chance to get some more young names into the lineup.

On paper, this finale against Washington, who clinched the No. 1 seed in the East weeks ago is meaningless, but with the chance for young players to see real NHL competition and get the chance to play with some top players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, if treated right, this could go a long way to answering some huge questions this team has moving forward.