Summer Coolers – Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins surprised almost everyone in 2025-26, returning to the playoffs for the first time in four years before losing to Philadelphia in six games. Their offense exploded from 18th to third overall, the defense improved, and Dan Muse emerged as a Jack Adams finalist in his first season behind the bench. But Neil Smith and Vic Morren see warning signs. Pittsburgh remains built around Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, several players who produced career seasons are gone, and goaltending has become a major question. Can the Penguins recreate last year’s magic?
IN THIS EPISODE:
[00:00:00] Pittsburgh exceeds expectations, makes its first playoff appearance in four years, but still hasn’t won a postseason series since 2018.
[00:00:30] The offense jumps to third in the NHL, the penalty kill finishes tied for sixth, and even the declining power play remains seventh at 24.1%.
[00:01:00] Despite Kyle Dubas reshaping the supporting cast, the franchise remains centered around Crosby, Malkin and Letang—a trio totaling 118 years of age.
[00:01:25] Malkin returns for another season, while Crosby and agent Pat Brisson are reportedly discussing another contract.
[00:01:45] Neil dismisses retirement speculation around Crosby, joking that the superstar seems capable of playing forever while maintaining an incredibly high level.
[00:02:00] Pittsburgh’s 41-25-16 record essentially amounts to 41 wins and 41 regulation/OT/shootout losses, but it was still far better than Neil and Vic expected.
[00:02:20] Dan Muse deserves considerable credit. The former Rangers assistant replaced Mike Sullivan and became a top-three Jack Adams candidate.
[00:03:00] Vic compares Pittsburgh to Washington’s previous surprise season because so many Penguins produced performances above expectations.
[00:03:15] Anthony Mantha delivered a career year before leaving for New Jersey, while Tommy Novak, Ben Kindel, Justin Brazeau, Noel Acciari and Blake Lizotte also contributed.
[00:03:35] Dubas attempts to replace those losses by adding Trevor van Riemsdyk and Andrei Kuzmenko while extending Novak and Connor Dewar.
[00:04:00] Pittsburgh also hopes Igor Cherepanov can take another step after playing extremely well following his arrival from Columbus.
[00:04:25] Neil identifies Mantha’s departure as a significant hole because his career-best production was an important part of Pittsburgh’s surprising season.
[00:04:50] Goaltending becomes another concern with Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner gone and Arturs Silovs potentially being asked to carry the No. 1 role.
[00:05:20] Neil worries that age, lost production and the disappearance of Muse’s first-year coaching boost could lead to regression.
[00:05:45] Sergei Murashov is expected to compete for the backup role after making four starts last season.
[00:06:00] Hendrix Lapierre, Kaedan Korczak and Nick Robertson are among the other offseason additions.
[00:06:25] One contract catches Vic’s attention: Ville Koivunen receives eight years at $4 million annually despite having only 47 games of NHL experience.
[00:07:00] Neil believes Dubas is betting heavily on analytics projecting Koivunen into a much better player than his current NHL numbers suggest.
[00:07:30] At $4 million, the gamble is manageable by modern NHL standards—but an eight-year miss would still consume valuable cap space.
[00:08:00] Defensive departures include John St. Ivany, Connor Clifton and Ryan Shea, while Skinner leaves for Winnipeg.
[00:08:25] Pittsburgh needs another wave of young players to emerge, including Harrison Brunicke and Rutger McGroarty.
[00:08:45] McGroarty has only four goals in 32 career NHL games, and Neil believes it is time for the former 14th overall pick to take a significant step.
[00:09:00] For Pittsburgh to duplicate last season, Neil believes somebody will need to produce another unexpected career year.
The Penguins proved last season that counting out Crosby and company can be dangerous. But they are older, several surprise contributors are gone, and the goaltending picture is uncertain. Pittsburgh may need another remarkable coaching job from Muse—and another collection of unexpected breakout seasons—to recreate last year’s success.
