Stat Hockey’s Pittsburgh Penguins 2023-24 Line Projections

This is a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins 2023-24 line projections. It will cover all forward lines, defense pairings, goaltenders, and scratches.

Projected Lineup

F

Reilly Smith – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell

Alexander Nylander – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust

Drew O’Connor – Lars Eller – Jeff Carter

Matt Nieto – Noel Acciari – Rem Pitlick

S- Vinnie Hinostroza, Colin White

D

Ryan Graves – Erik Karlsson

Marcus Pettersson – Kris Letang

Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Ty Smith

S- Chad Ruhwedel

G

Tristan Jarry

Alex Nedeljkovic

Notable injuries to start season: Jake Guentzel (ankle)

Forwards

The Penguins altered their lineup for the better this offseason. Unfortunately, Guentzel is starting the year on the injured reserve, so the team will have to get rolling without him. He’s a big loss, but the addition of Smith helps. He should be able to fill in nicely on the top line for the time being. He’s not used to playing with elite players, so it could really boost him up. Crosby will as always be the top line center. And while Rakell or Rust can play on the wing, I think Rakell earned the top line spot with his play last season.

Malkin will lead the second line and get more support when Guentzel returns so Smith can be moved onto his line. But for now, Rust is looking to bounce back and can do so with Malkin. It might be a battle for the other spot on the wing, but Nylander would be a great fill-in. He dominated the AHL last season and the Penguins need younger talent having an impact in their lineup.

The bottom-six sees a much-needed change, especially the third line. I can easily see Carter shifting over to the wing this season with the addition of Eller. Last season was up and down for Eller, but he has an opportunity for a fresh start. On the other wing, I’m looking at O’Connor to step up and have a larger role.

I like the fourth line a lot more this season. Acciari is a bit underrated and plays hard, while Nieto is a great veteran. Pitlick also came over from the Montreal Canadiens and can produce when given the chance. The Penguins were looking for a change and more help producing and I think they got it.

Defense

The defense of the Penguins looks much more dangerous this season as well. I think both Karlsson and Graves come in as the new top pairing, but they will get similar ice time to Letang and Pettersson, almost as if there’s two top pairings. Graves’ defensive game should offset Karlsson very well. It will allow last year’s Vezina Trophy winner to play his game. This is the hope for the Penguins at least.

Pettersson had a strong season in 2022-23, so he and Letang should do fine. Letang gets some help on the right side and it may benefit him more than anticipated. There’s now both an elite scoring threat and strong defensive mind on the top two pairings.

Related: Stat Hockey’s Philadelphia Flyers 2023-24 Line Projections

Joseph has locked down a spot on the team and may even get an opportunity higher up this season at times. But for now, he’ll do just fine on the third pairing with a partner who I believe should be Smith. Since being dealt to the Penguins, he’s had a very limited opportunity. That should change this season now that he’s eligible for waivers. I think he can outplay Ruhwedel or Mark Friedman for a spot on the team.

Goaltending

Goaltending comes in about the same as it was last season. Jarry remains the starter, while the backup was swapped out. Nedeljkovic struggled a lot to begin last season, but came back with a vengeance and played very well for the Detroit Red Wings to end the season. Jarry had a down year by his standards (.909 SV%) and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he jumps back up to over a .915 SV%.