Inside Scoop: 2026.27 Training Camp Begins

And We're Off

Heading into last season, Vegas oddsmakers gave Pittsburgh a 91% chance of missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row before the Penguins went on to flip the script.

After Pittsburgh advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they got eliminated by Philadelphia in six games. While it was a disappointing finish, overall, there was so much to like about the season that Bryan Rust called “one of my most fun years.” Going into this season, the Penguins want to build on the strides that they made.

“The expectations probably weren't as high going into last year, and with getting to the playoffs and taking a step there, they're probably a little bit higher having gone through that,” Sidney Crosby said. “So, I think for the guys that are back, it's good for us to hopefully build on what we did last year and be better. It’s a good challenge for us coming into this season.”

The Penguins invited 69 players to training camp (the roster and complete schedule is here).

Key additions: Forward Nick Robertson; forward Andrei Kuzmenko; forward Hendrix Lapierre; defenseman Kaeden Korczak; defenseman Declan Carlile; defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk

Key departures: Goaltender Stuart Skinner (Winnipeg); forward Anthony Mantha (New Jersey), forward Noel Acciari (Philadelphia); forward Kevin Hayes (KHL); defensemen Ryan Shea (Edmonton); defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (Vegas); defenseman Connor Clifton (Boston); defenseman Jack St. Ivany (Winnipeg)

I did a more in-depth look at the changes to Pittsburgh’s roster in this piece.

Thoughts on Condensed Camp

A shortened training camp is part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement taking effect for the 2026.27 season. It has gone from 20 to 14 days, with the preseason slate being shortened to four games, and the regular season being extended to 84 games. Pittsburgh’s opener is September 29, earlier than usual, to accommodate the changes.

As for how the Penguins prepared leading into it, Jason Spezza noted that players reported to Pittsburgh earlier than usual to join the informal skates that take place at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in the weeks leading up to training camp.  

“But I don’t know if it affected preparation, necessarily,” forward Justin Brazeau said. “I think no matter what, when you go into a season, Day 1 you want to be ready to go, whether it’s a two-day camp or a 25-day camp.”

Dan Muse and his staff have carefully planned out their approach to the practices and exhibition games, talking through everything with management.

“For us, we wanted to outline things that we wanted to make sure that we accomplished over the course of camp,” Muse said. “Going into it, feeling strongly that we will be able to do that.”

One adjustment will be having some intra-squad scrimmages in the practices. Today, they spent the sessions doing a mix of flow drills, small-area battles and competitions.

“I think what it is, is more next week, it’s kind of like, that’s when you’re getting ready for the season,” Brazeau said. “You’re going to see more special teams and stuff like that, whereas in years past, that second week is still kind of battles.”

Spezza said that with only four exhibition contests, there’s not going to be the same level of opportunity for everybody compared to years past. Younger players in particular benefit from having more of a runway and continuing to earn game after game. They will have to make the most of the time they have.

“It's an opportunity for people to make an impression, and they have a little bit of a shorter window to make it, to do those things,” Muse said. “So, for us, it's just going to be kind of taking it each day, looking to execute that plan, looking to provide that opportunity for players to go out there and make the impression that they want to make.”

On the flip side, they’ll get some grace if they aren’t able to find the level they’re looking for quick enough.

“So, it’s a matter of rewarding the guys that have shown that they’re getting closer by giving them games, seeing where they are. But also, the understanding that it is a shorter camp, there’s not going to be massive decisions made based on just a couple of days of how you played,” Spezza said.

And as both Spezza and Muse pointed out, this is new for everyone.

“It’s one of those things where I'm not gonna honestly get too hung up on or think about it at all,” Muse said. “Like, it's the first time for everybody having the camp in this format, and it's the same for everybody throughout the league.”

Training Camp Teams

Even with the shorter camp, Dan Muse said not to read too much into how Teams 1 and 2 were deployed. 

"There's things that we want to see, and I say we in terms of all of us: coaching staff, management, conversations we've had, things that we've discussed," Muse said. "Different things that could be a fit, but right now, it’s a could be.

"So, as we move through camp, you'll probably some different pairs. You'll probably see some different line combinations. Could see some that stay the same. For me, coming off of Day 1, I have no way of telling you kind of where that's going to be."

Team 3 was mostly made up of the younger players and guys on AHL contracts, save for Elmer Soderblom. Turns out the forward had misread the schedule, so this will likely be a one-time thing.

"I'm sorry to all my coaches and teammates," he said. "I totally own it. It's my mistake, and it won't happen again. Just got to forget about it and move forward."

Team 1 Lines and D-pairs

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Nick Robertson

Connor Dewar-Hendrix Lapierre-Justin Brazeau

Filip Hallander-Tristan Broz-Avery Hayes

Tanner Howe-Bill Zonnon-Atley Calvert

Sam Girard-Kaedan Korczak

Ryan Graves-Chase Pietila

Team 2 Lines and D-pairs

Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin

Andrei Kuzmenko-Ben Kindel-Ville Koivunen

Bryan Rust-Rutger McGroarty-Blake Lizotte

Declan Carlile-Erik Karlsson

Trevor van Riemsyk-Kris Letang

Jake Livanavage-Ilya Solovyov

Caleb Jones-Phil Kemp

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As always, there is competition at every position. Particularly at the forward position, as the Penguins have a baker’s dozen of players on one-way contracts. But Jason Spezza said they would love to see the younger guys in the mix push their way in, and gave a good reminder that there is a long season ahead.

“I think that everybody always wants finality at the end of training camp, like, 'This is the team. This is what it's going to be all year.' I think there's going to be plenty of opportunities for young guys to establish themselves as NHL players as the year goes on,” Spezza said. “Whether that's on opening day or not, that will kind of sort itself out here over the next 12 days, 13 days.

“But we know we want to inject youth into the lineup. We have to. We have to make sure we do it when guys are ready, and when they're going to help the team. So, I think it'll be, we're all interested, just as you are, to kind of watch and see where everybody's at with young players. They take big steps over the summer and we'll kind of monitor that, see where it goes."

Dan Muse reiterated that nothing is set in stone, and that while guys are battling for spots, they’re also battling for impressions. Some of those younger guys who earned call-ups as the year went on made positive ones at this time of year and continued to build.

“There’s a lot of things that are up for grabs right now, and that's what you want to have,” Muse said.

Contract Talks

There are two very important Penguins eligible to sign extensions.

The first is the captain. Both Sidney Crosby and Jason Spezza said that they’ll leave the conversations to Kyle Dubas and Pat Brisson, Crosby’s agent. As Crosby has said time and time again, at this point in his career, it’s hard to project how long he is going to play for.

“But I think it's just something that I'll see what happens there,” said Crosby, who turned 39 on August 7. “But I'm happy with the way I feel, and we'll just go from there.”

Karlsson, who turned 36 in May, is keeping a similar mindset.

“I feel really good, got a lot of years left in me, and the future is not something that I've really thought about,” he said. “I think everybody, including myself, had a lot of fun here last year, and I'm hoping that we can recreate that and start building even more forward and find another gear here, and we'll see what happens.

Karlsson is coming off a season where he was named the Penguins Team MVP. The three-time Norris Trophy winner just continued to elevate his game as the year went on, coming up with big plays across all 200 feet of the ice. The defenseman finished with 14 goals and 64 points.

“I think Erik showed, with his play last year, how important he is to our group,” Jason Spezza said. “He was extremely valuable. I think he found a resurgence last year in himself. I think we'd like to see the same version of Erik Karlsson. He'd like to see the same version of Erik Karlsson. He's been at it for a long time. In terms of the contract, I think we've communicated where we're at as a team and want to continue to see growth. And I think he wants to see that as well. So, there's been great conversation and transparency around his situation. We think a lot of Erik. I think he's enjoyed his time here. We've enjoyed having him. So, those types of situations will play themselves out as the year goes."