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Penguins Roster Projection for 2025-26 Season Following NHL Schedule Release


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Tom Banks
July 16, 2025  (2:37 PM)
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Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Photo credit: Daily Faceoff

The Penguins schedule has officially been released, and now Insider Josh Yohe has revealed his projected roster for Pittsburgh ahead of an intriguing season.

The off-season has been quiet thus far for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but on Wednesday the team officially announced their schedule for the 2025/26 campaign, giving fans plenty to look forward too.
While most don't expect much from this team next season, there's a chance that they could be surprisingly competitive, and with Sidney Crosby still leading the way, you can bet that no matter who takes the ice, they'll be pushing hard for victories every time out.
Now, Penguins Insider Josh Yohe has taken a look at exactly who could be on the ice for their season opener against the Rangers, offering three different options for what the team could look like.
The lineups are as follows:

'Blow it up' roster

Rutger McGroarty - Sidney Crosby - Anthony Mantha
Evgeni Malkin - Tommy Novak - Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar - Kevin Hayes - Phil Tomasino
Danton Heinen - Blake Lizotte - Justin Brazeau

Ryan Shea - Kris Letang
Owen Pickering - Matt Dumba
Parker Wotherspoon - Connor Clifton

Tristan Jarry
Arturs Silovs

'Go young' roster

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Rutger McGroarty - Evgeni Malkin - Ville Koivunen
Anthony Mantha - Tommy Novak - Tristan Broz
Justin Brazeau - Blake Lizotte - Phil Tomasino

Owen Pickering - Harrison Brunicke
Ryan Shea - Connor Clifton
Alexander Alexeyev - Kris Letang

Arturs Silovs
Sergei Murashov

'Stand pat' roster

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Ville Koivunen
Rutger McGroarty - Tommy Novak - Phil Tomasino
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Justin Brazeau

Ryan Shea - Erik Karlsson
Kris Letang - Connor Clifton
Owen Pickering - Matt Dumba

Tristan Jarry
Arturs Silovs
The one constant throughout all three is the duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who have been with the Penguins through thick and thin, and depending on how you want to see the Penguins built moving forward, one of the three rosters provide something for you.
At the end of the day, the Penguins need to choose a path and strongly stick to it, whether that be blowing it up, going younger or standing pat, and when they take the ice at Madison Square Garden on October 7th, their roster should absolutely reflect that.
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Penguins Roster Projection for 2025-26 Season Following NHL Schedule Release

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