Pittsburgh Penguins: Arturs Silovs
It’s something of a similar story in Pittsburgh. After finishing second in the Metro last season, after a string of campaigns in the division’s basement before that, the Penguins enter 2026-27 looking to prove their resurgence was more than a one-year fluke.
They’ll do so with a lineup that’s seen plenty of turnover this summer. New offensive talents Andrei Kuzmenko and Nick Robertson are dotted among the forward corps’ bottom six, and new blue-liners Trevor van Riemsdyk and Kaedan Korczak will slot in to replace key depth pieces. The most important change, though, might be the fact that the net will be turned over to young Arturs Silovs.
The 25-year-old split netminding duties with a veteran partner for the entirety of last season — first with Tristan Jarry and then Stuart Skinner following the trade that brought the two-time Cup finalist to Pittsburgh. It was Skinner who got the start for the first few games of the post-season, before Silovs took over and nearly pulled Pittsburgh back from an 0-3 series deficit. With Skinner headed to Winnipeg, it’ll be up to Silovs and young Sergei Murashov to keep Sidney Crosby’s club in the post-season picture once again.