Taking A Look At The Revamped Future In Pittsburgh

The NHL is a fast-paced league that can change at the drop of a hat. Heading into this offseason many around the league were wondering if the Penguins would blow up their core and start a rebuild.

Instead, Pittsburgh doubled down and acquired Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. They also added players like Ryan Graves and Reilly Smith to the mix as well.

All of the change this offseason has led to many wondering what the 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins could look like. One author for Pensburgh decided to take a crack at predicting the lineup. An author by the name of Hooks Orpik recently released this potential lineup for the Penguins in 2024-25:

This lineup sees a lot of familiar faces coming back for another season in Pittsburgh. Reilly Smith is projected to be on a line with Evgeni Malkin. A 2022-23 breakout player Drew O'Connor factors into the lineup once again playing on the fourth line.

As for the question marks in the lineup, these could be filled by any number of players. As far as in-house solutions at forward players like Valtteri Puustinen, Brayden Yager, or Samuel Poulin could be ready for their NHL opportunity by this point.

On defense, former first-round picks Ty Smith and Owen Pickering feel like strong candidates. In goal, the Penguins have a strong prospect pool including the likes of Joel Blomqvist, Sergei Murashov, and Taylor Gauthier.

Of course, the Penguins could look to other teams for solutions as well. The 2024 free agent class is shaping up to be a good one that the Penguins could use to significantly improve their roster.