The Penguins took a step in setting their future lineup for next season and beyond by giving Blake Lizotte a three-year contract extension earlier this week. Kyle Dubas has been extremely active on the margins of the roster by making a constant stream of transactions that send players coming in and out of the team, as well as up and down to Wilkes-Barre of the AHL. All the while external rumors about veteran players being traded are always out there in the ether, though the names of Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson on the national trade front have settled down mightily compared to where that was six or 12 months ago when those players were constantly being mentioned and referenced as potential trade targets.

These factors make projecting next year’s lineup a difficult exercise and one surely with a range of error. We’ll give it a shot anyways.

Forwards (7): Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Tommy Novak, Blake Lizotte, Justin Brazeau, Ben Kindel
Defense (3): Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Parker Wotherspoon

This looks like the core of the team, as far as the players who are already under contract next season and also are established in their roles. Given the nature of Dubas’s frequent flipping it wouldn’t be a major surprise if a phone call with another GM sends just about anyone besides Crosby away.

Free agent decisions or fringe players

Forwards (7): Evgeni Malkin, Egor Chinakhov, Anthony Mantha, Connor Dewar, Noel Acciari
Defense (5): Brett Kulak, Ryan Shea, Jack St. Ivany, Ryan Graves, Caleb Jones
Goalies (2): Stuart Skinner, Arturs Silovs

This category is for players that the team will still need to make decisions on. Of them all, restricted free agent Chinakhov could be considered the most likely to come back since his future is more of a formality than anything at this point. Dubas will famously be checking in with Malkin’s camp at the Olympic break to see what the future could hold there, it was widely believed the Pens would move on coming into this season but after a strong first half that calculation may have shifted. Beyond that, there are various cases for and against any of these players ending up on the Pittsburgh NHL roster next season. Some (like Graves and St. Ivany) have an edge by having a contract for next season, though I wouldn’t consider either absolute locks at this point. Others like Kulak and Mantha may be players the team wishes to retain, however they must weigh that against the force of expiring contracts and the chance for those two looking towards a depleted free agency market for what could be sizeable contracts ahead out there from some NHL team. Acciari and Dewar have done well individually and collectively on the fourth line with Lizotte and will merit consideration of retention for decisions that could go either way.

Forwards (1): Kevin Hayes
Defense (2): Matt Dumba, Connor Clifton

These are the players likely to be wished well in their future endeavors without much extra thought when their contracts end after this season. Some might have Acciari or even Skinner in this category, but I don’t think the Penguins will. Which isn’t to say either are going to be back, more a matter of perception and placement. Clifton could still play his way up a category with an exceptional second half, though to me he looks like a player who gets traded or sent out to free agency more than retained for next season.

Young players knocking on the door

Forwards (5): Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes, Fillip Hallander
Defense (2): Harrison Brunicke, Owen Pickering
Goalies (2): Sergei Murashov, Joel Blomqvist

Surely the team will be hoping that young players like Koivunen and McGroarty are ready to be full-time NHL players by 2026-27 but a lot remains to be seen from how they finish this season to figure out just where they’re going to fit moving forward. From there, the next young wave of talent could be provided.

With all that in mind, here’s a current day outlook of a potential roster for the Penguins at the start of the 2026-27 season.

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Evgeni Malkin – Justin Brazeau
Ville Koivunen – Ben Kindel – Tommy Novak
Rutger McGroarty – Blake Lizotte – Avery Hayes

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
(external add) / Kris Letang
(external add) / (external add)

Stuart Skinner and Sergei Murashov

Given Dubas’s history and tendencies, we’d bet at least one of Rakell/Rust/Brazeau/Novak are swapped out to create a change at forward that can’t accurately be forecasted at the current moment. It’s tough to think that all 12 of the opening night forwards are already within the organization, some level of change will be coming but from this point in time it’s throwing darts blindfolded to try and guess where that might be coming from. So we’re beholden at the moment to hold current contracts in their spots for now, even while knowing that some level of change will knock that off track.

Our biggest swings are in the free agent category, where Skinner and the Pens look like a decent match for one another in a short-term deal to give Pittsburgh a veteran in net while bringing along Murashov as the feature goalie of the future. The Pens also look to keep Malkin for one more year, because why not at this point? It’s also a projection that Koivunen and McGroarty will both anchor down NHL jobs given their respective rocky first halves of this season, though that’s one we’re willing to make given organizational interest and skill levels involved.

Defense is where a lot of change should happen, the Pens have proven that they’re not going to keep Graves on the NHL roster simply because of his contract, his days in the regular lineup look over until injury forces him back in. Otherwise, Dubas will need to find the next wave of Wotherspoon/Brazeau signings to round out the lineup. It would also be a nice added point if Pickering and/or Brunicke are ready to fill in on the third pair and change one of those external slots over to something already on hand, though projecting the progress of young defenders has proven to be a challenge to this point given the various ups and downs that go along with it.

Of course, someone like Kindel last year at this time was 99.99% unknown to all hockey and Penguin fans, now he’s a mainstay. Surprises lurk around every corner, with new information and decisions like the one to extend Lizotte coming in all the time to shake up the outlook of what next year’s team will look like. Some of the blocks are in place but only time can tell what kind of wheeling and dealing that Dubas will perform as he continues to shape what the Penguins will look like in 2026-27 and beyond.