- Kuzmenko, Robertson and van Riemsdyk headline a low-key Penguins retool
- Malkin turns 40 on July 31 and is back for a 21st season in Pittsburgh
- Read below for every arrival, every exit and the one hole Pittsburgh still has
Kyle Dubas didn’t blow up the Penguins this summer. He tinkered.
Pittsburgh’s biggest offseason bet is that a handful of mid-priced additions can keep Sidney Crosby’s window open for one more run. The Penguins went 41-25-16 last season, finished second in the Metropolitan Division and lost in the first round. The group coming back looks like a team hoping the margins tilt its way, not one chasing a splash. Dubas worked those margins after a trade market that never really opened up for him.
Andrei Kuzmenko is the headliner. He signed a one-year, $5 million deal on July 1 and slots in to replace Anthony Mantha, who led the team with 33 goals before leaving for New Jersey. Nicholas Robertson came over from Toronto for a fourth-round pick and signed a two-year contract. Trevor van Riemsdyk arrived from Washington and could open the season on the top pair next to Erik Karlsson.
Pittsburgh has already handed the new guys their sweaters:
There were real losses, too. Mantha’s 33 goals are gone. Goalie Stuart Skinner walked to Winnipeg, penalty-killer Noel Acciari joined the Flyers, and Parker Wotherspoon went to Vegas in the swap that brought back depth defenseman Kaedan Korczak.
Everything still runs through the two players who built the place. Crosby remains the focus, and Evgeni Malkin turns 40 on July 31 after re-signing in May for a 21st season in Pittsburgh.
They’re already counting down to his return:
The crease is the real question. Arturs Silovs and 22-year-old Sergei Murashov sit atop the depth chart, and Murashov, tabbed as the goalie of the future, has just five NHL games on his resume.
One obvious hole remains. Pittsburgh needs more top-end scoring around its two stars, and at 38 and 40, Crosby and Malkin don’t have many summers like this one left.
