A team does not shatter expectations without a handful of players who do the same. Instead of anxiously awaiting bouncing ping-pong balls to learn their draft position, the Pittsburgh Penguins strutted into the playoffs with a second place finish in the Metro Division.
As part of their surprising, if not shocking, success, the Penguins had a handful of players who earned A+ grades this season. Adding to the layers of surprise, only one of the players was acquired with expectations beyond a basic presence.
After all, defenseman Ryan Shea was buried in the Dallas Stars’ organization without a singular NHL game in three seasons, the LA Kings refused a simple qualifying offer for Blake Lizotte, and Parker Wotherspoon sat in the Boston Bruins press box.
As part of general manager Kyle Dubas’s pivot away from chasing a Stanley Cup toward building the future, he padded the roster depth with a handful of players who may or may not have worked out. Dubas’s goal was not necessarily winning, but in giving those players a chance, and in the process finding more players who would be part of the team’s future … or be a trade chip.
Perhaps even Dubas was just a little surprised at how many players acquired in the last two years worked out so well. Welcome to the least controversial report card of the season.
Penguins A+ Report Cards
Blake Lizotte
The fourth line center didn’t set career marks for goals or points like teammates, but since LA declined to sign their then 26-year-old center for about $1.6 million, the Penguins have been the beneficiary.
This season, with Lizotte in the lineup, the Penguins were 31-12-12. Without him in the lineup, they were 10-13-4.
His speed, tenacity, and defensive acumen, including the highly ranked penalty killing unit, were a major contributor to the Penguins’ 2025-26 improvement. He finished the season with 19 points in 55 games, including seven goals, and his play allowed coach Dan Muse to lift the fourth line’s minutes.
Lizotte averaged almost 14 minutes per game (13:52). Dubas rewarded him with a new three-year, $6.75 million deal.
Connor Dewar
Lizotte’s tag team partner on the fourth line. After a stone cold season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which he had just three assists in 31 games, Dewar posted career numbers with 14 goals and 30 points in 78 games. Dewar’s plus-16 was also a career high and a greater total than his previous four seasons combined.
Over the preceding three seasons, the media shy Dewar scored a total of 15 goals. He, too, was a primary part of the Penguins’ penalty kill, which ranked in the top 10 all season and finished sixth overall.
Dewar was an RFA, but he, too, was rewarded with a new two-year, $4.5 million deal.
Noel Acciari
The third leg of the Penguins’ gritty fourth-line that was the backbone of the team, Acciari didn’t quite reach his career high of 27 points, but posted his best season in six years and the second best total of his career (25). Acciari also set a career high with a plus-14.
Since Dubas signed Acciari to a three-year deal on July 1, 2023, Acciari had not quite lived up to the gritty, physical presence that was expected. His first two seasons were underwhelming in large part because former coach Mike Sullivan often used Acciari as a center, and the player admittedly played a more conservative game in the middle to maintain his responsibilities.
Also, in the previous two seasons, the ghosts of seasons past seemed to weigh down Acciari, as his skating and speed were not what they once were. Perhaps the formation of the like-minded trio allowed Acciari to play his game or made any decline irrelevant. He was quite good all season.
Muse was able to shift him back to wing, though an interesting statistical drop was actually a positive sign. The line’s surprisingly increased puck possession dropped Acciari’s hit and block total dramatically to 62 blocks (from 100) and 65 hits (from 180), but his play worked in tandem with Dewar and Lizotte to create a defensive line that had more shot attempts than their opponents.
Acciari, 34, is an unrestricted free agent and, unlike his linemates who have already re-signed, is unlikely to return. Acciari performed yeoman’s work fulfilling his contract, but he has played a lot of hard minutes and his odometer reading is close to the end.
Ryan Shea
After six years in pro hockey, Shea could finally spread his wings this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He smashed his previous career highs by posting 35 points and a plus-30 rating, but also playing a full season predominantly on his proper left side.
Shea showed grit in the defensive zone and some offensive pop when given the chance. For the first two months of the season, Shea was paired with Kris Letang, and the work was labored. With Letang, Shea had negative advanced stats (47.6% Corsi). The same metrics applied to his third-pairing tandem with Connor Clifton.
Conversely, when playing with other defensemen, Shea’s stats were at 50% or higher. But before the analytics crowd downgrades Shea, it should be noted that with every defensive partner, he had a positive goal differential. Shea led the Penguins in plus/minus by a wide margin at plus-30.
The next closest on the team was Wotherspoon at plus-17.
On a later season podcast, Dubas noted he was happy for Shea’s breakout, and “he earned his payday.” However, Shea has not yet re-signed with the Penguins, and his return now seems in doubt.
The Penguins’ other left-side defensemen under contract (excluding Sam Girard and Wotherspoon) for next season are at best unproven commodities: prospect Owen Pickering, Ilya Solovyov, Caleb Jones, and Ryan Graves.
Parker Wotherspoon
Wotherspoon, 28, was one of the great free agent finds of the summer. For the low, low cost of $1 million per season for two seasons, the Penguins snagged Wotherspoon off the scrap heap from the Boston Bruins and found themselves a top pair defenseman. Wotherspoon found instant chemistry with Erik Karlsson and played the defensive backdrop to Karlsson’s extraordinary offensive talents.
Wotherspoon notched 30 points, which was nearly double his total from the prior three seasons combined (16). Perhaps the top compliment came via inclusion on the star-laden roster of Team Canada for the World Championships.
Of course, some of Wotherspoon’s stats were courtesy of handing off the puck to Karlsson, but stats aren’t why Wotherspoon gets an A+ for the season. Instead, his hard-nosed defensive work in front of his own net and along the walls, and his ability to not lose himself in what can be a whirring color of skating and irresponsibility that seems implanted in the Penguins’ DNA. He well anchored Karlsson, played it straight, and played it well.
And that’s why Wotherspoon earned the high mark.
Tags: blake lizotte Connor Dewar noel acciari Parker Wotherspoon Pittsburgh Penguins Ryan Shea
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