Trades Create Questions for Pittsburgh Penguins Defensive Structure

Heading into a rebuilding season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made numerous moves to restructure the defence of the team. Pittsburgh finished the 2024-25 season 24^th in the league’s overall standings, coming away with the 11^th overall pick in the Entry Draft. The team was also responsible for the third-most goals allowed in the league with 293. With an atrocious defensive group in place, general manager Kyle Dubas doubled down heading into a year that offers rookie sensation Gavin McKenna as the consensus first-overall pick.

New Faces in Pittsburgh

Determined to amass further draft capital, Pittsburgh made a couple of trades utilizing their cap space. The Penguins brought in defencemen Conor Timmins and Vladislav Kolyachonok at the 2025 trade deadline for low costs. Both defencemen have been moved in recent weeks, bringing in veteran cap dumps and second-round picks in each deal. Timmins brought in Connor Clifton and pick 39 in 2025 from the Buffalo Sabres. Meanwhile, Kolyachonok brought in Matt Dumba and a second in 2028 from the Dallas Stars.

Both Dumba and Clifton are 30-year-old, right-handed defencemen on expiring contracts. While both are cap dumps for their weak play in recent years, they’re firmly NHL-calibre defencemen capable of bringing in further capital at the trade deadline. In addition to the pair, Pittsburgh have also signed defenceman Parker Wotherspoon and Alexander Alexeyev to new contracts. Both are lower-calibre, left-handed defencemen capable of providing bottom pair or seventh defenceman minutes.

The Existing Defensive Group

The Penguins are not an organization struggling for volume of NHL-calibre defencemen. The existing group is led by Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. The mid-30s-aged pair of right-handed defencemen fill a similar offensive role, while aging has diminished their performance over the years. However, they’re both firmly top-four defencemen that are unlikely to be held out of an NHL game. Past them, Ryan Graves still has four years left on a $4.5 million average annual value contract. Graves’ contract has become an albatross, and the player himself is unlikely to be scratched as arguably the team’s best left-handed defenceman. Finally, veteran depth defencemen Ryan Shea and Sebastian Aho are other players who will fight for NHL ice time.

Past the veterans, there are a few young guns that could get NHL minutes. Jack St. Ivany is a 25-year-old left defenceman who plays with a physical edge and shows two-way smarts. He’s played 33 NHL games with the Penguins over the past two seasons, providing a physical edge. Former first-round pick Owen Pickering is primed to break out into an NHL role. The 6’5″ 21-year-old defenceman has already tasted NHL action, playing in 25 games with the Penguins last season. He showed promise in his limited NHL time and will push for a roster spot this fall. Finally, 2024 second-round pick Harrison Brunicke is a right-handed defensive prospect who will fight hard for NHL time as well. Brunicke was a surprise in the team’s 2024 training camp, playing far better than expected. Brunicke could fight for a spot on the Penguins’ defence out of camp this fall.

An Abundance of Options

With at least ten defencemen vying for NHL time, there’s an abundance of options available to new head coach Dan Muse. The right side is overcrowded with staple NHL talent. Karlsson and Letang will be given the duties of running the top two pairs. Clifton and Dumba are veteran defencemen capable of giving meaningful minutes on the right side in contract years. The organization will want to showcase both of them for hopes of selling them at the deadline. With more options than needed already available, the Penguins also have Brunicke knocking on the door of NHL time. Although another year of seasoning is likely to be best for his development, Brunicke has impressed at every level so far and could push for NHL time.

None of the Penguins options on the left side of the defence are too inspiring. Ryan Graves’ contract means the team will want to play him even if his production doesn’t deserve it. Alexeyev, Wotherspoon, and Shea meanwhile, have traditionally only been fringe-bottom pair players during their professional careers. In addition to these four, the left side also has a young defenceman seemingly ready for NHL time. Owen Pickering already played games last year, and will look to cement himself as a fixture on the defence for a long while.

A Busy Summer

Many insiders have already said to expect a busier summer this year. Erik Karlsson has been the subject of trade rumours since the 2025 trade deadline. With two years left on a contract the Penguins are paying $10M for, some retention could make Karlsson an attractive target. Pittsburgh has $12M in cap space, and could retain $1.5-2.5M to make a trade similar to the Seth Jones move. As right-handed veteran defencemen on expiring deals, both Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba could also be flipped throughout the season. Brunicke may not make the NHL team out of camp. However, if defencemen are moved at the deadline, room could be made for Brunicke after his season with the Kamloops Blazers ends. Kyle Dubas has given the Penguins defence a ton of flexibility in accumulating assets while striving toward the overall rebuilding goal.