For the last 23 years (13 with The Hockey News) DobberHockey has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 24th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what we take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

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Gone – Anthony Mantha, Ryan Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, Noel Acciari, Kevin Hayes, Jack St. Ivany, Connor Clifton, Stuart Skinner

Incoming – Andrei Kuzmenko, Declan Carlile, Nicholas Robertson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Kaedan Korczak, Hendrix Lapierre

Impact of changes

After earning a playoff spot unexpectedly, the Penguins did not make any huge changes. The most significant move fantasy-wise might be swapping Mantha for Kuzmenko. Like the Penguins, Mantha far surpassed expectations in 2025-26. Mantha's career year resulted in him securing a two-year contract with New Jersey in mid-July, but the Pens already found the potential replacement for his offense in Kuzmenko, who can deliver on the power play but can be maddeningly inconsistent and a liability defensively. Everywhere Kuzmenko has gone, he has started with a bang but then fizzled out.

In terms of other moves, the Penguins will hope to tap more of Nick Robertson's upside than the Leafs were able to. As well, van Riemsdyk, Korczak, and Carlile will be replacing penalty-killing d-men Shea and Wotherspoon as regulars on the blueline. The defense will need to be better, as the departure of Skinner will result in a relatively young and inexperienced goalie tandem, assuming the Penguins don't sign a veteran netminder. GM Kyle Dubas is known for rostering more players than needed, but the net result is that it doesn't look like the quantity of players will help the quality of the team.

Ready for Full Time

One half of the youthful goalie tandem will likely be Sergei Murashov, who is only 22 years old but may already be NHL ready. Murashov finished the 2025-26 season with a 24-9-3 record with a 2.20 GAA and .919 SV%. Unless the Penguins sign a veteran, Murashov will battle Joel Blomqvist for one of the NHL roster spots beside Arturs Silovs.

The competition for roster spots could hurt Rutger McGroarty's chances of making the team again. McGroarty started the season in Pittsburgh, but then battled multiple injuries and ended up splitting time between Pittsburgh and the AHL. The fact he is waivers-exempt means that he is not guaranteed an NHL spot, but he is still the Penguins' top forward prospect. A bigger player at 6-1, 212 lbs., McGroarty may need some time before he is fully established in the NHL, but he should be in the NHL for at least part of the 2026-27 season.

Ville Koivunen is not waiver-eligible. In a surprising move, the Penguins recently signed him to an eight-year contract. It seems unlikely they would let him pass through waivers, as they are obviously thinking long-term with this player. Like McGroarty, Koivunen split time between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Koivunen had an impressive AHL season with 41 points in 34 games, so he doesn't have much left to prove there anyway.

Fantasy Outlook

The Penguins' top fantasy option is still Sidney Crosby. Having just turned 39, Sid the Kid is no longer one of the league's top scorers like he was during the first half of his career, but he is still a strong enough scorer to be universally rostered. His longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin rebounded to over a point per game in 2025-26, but he is now 40 and injuries are taking a toll again. Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Egor Chinakhov are other Penguins forwards that should be rostered in the majority of fantasy leagues. Rust and Rakell are both over 30, so this is not a young top-6. Some youth is on the way, as 19-year-old Ben Kindel will hope to improve on his 35-point rookie season.

On the blueline, Erik Karlsson should once again log major minutes and quarterback the top power play with four of the above forwards. If the Penguins fall out of the playoff race, 36-year-old Karlsson is a possibility to be traded because he is on the final year of his contract. 39-year-old Kris Letang is no longer the offensive force that he once was, but he may still log major minutes given the uncertain state of the Penguins' defense. Between the forwards and the defensemen, Dubas will need to think about a succession plan – perhaps even a rebuild – sometime over the next season or two.  

Goaltending is a major question mark on this team, mainly due to lack of experience. Both Silovs and Murashov have potential to have strong NHL careers, but both are 25 or under. Silovs is probably the Penguins goalie to draft in single-season fantasy leagues, but he has yet to prove that he can last a full season as an NHL starter.

Fantasy Grade: C+ (Last year: C)

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