There were a lot of things that contributed to the Pittsburgh Penguins strong 2025-26 performance and their return to the playoffs, and one of the biggest was the number of players that exceeded individual expectations. In some cases, it was not just a case of exceeding expectations, but having career years.
When that happens across an entire roster you do not have many bounce-back candidates for the following season.
There are, however, still a handful of players that the Penguins will be hoping for a bounce-back performance from during the 2026-27 season. So let’s take a look at a few of them and how likely it will be for them to perform better on an individual level.
Most-likely bounce-back: Sam Girard
Girard’s brief time with the Penguins has produced some mixed results, and I would say the majority of those results have been on the disappointing side. He initially struggled after coming over from the Colorado Avalanche in the trade for Brett Kulak. His work alongside Kris Letang produced some ugly moments in both the regular season and playoffs. Early on, he looked like a player that was doing more thinking on the ice than playing. Sometimes he seemed more interested in just spinning around with the puck than making a decision with it.
But for all of the negatives there were still some flashes of strong play (both with and without Letang) and some games where he truly did shine. It was not all bad.
I have seen enough defenseman come through Pittsburgh, initially struggle while trying to fit in with a new team and system, have people get down on them, only to have them bounce back with a fresh start in the next season and play at a really high level.
Sergei Gonchar had some rocky moments early on and then became a pivotal part of a Stanley Cup winning team.
Paul Martin was viewed as a liability with an albatross contract after one year before playing like the rock-solid, two-way defender he was in New Jersey.
Erik Karlsson was completely written off by many until he bounced back this season.
Is Girard going to be Gonchar or Karlsson next season? No. Because even at his peak he was never that type of player. But given his talent and track record as an NHL player (which is very good!) I do not think it is a stretch to believe he can come back next season and be a productive, top-four defenseman. It would be a welcome addition if he does.
Possible bounce-back: Arturs Silovs
Recency bias might tell us there is nothing for him to bounce back from because of how he played in the playoffs when he got his opportunity. And he was fantastic in those three games, giving the Penguins a fighting chance and nearly pushing them to a Game 7 out of a 3-0 series hole.
But his season overall wasn’t great.
His .887 save percentage ranked 44th out of the 59 goalies that appeared in at least 25 games.
His minus-8.3 goals saved above average ranked 79th out of 98 goalies that played in at least one game.
His minus-11.9 goals saved above expected ranked 89th of 98 goalies.
Objectively speaking, he was not great. His rebound control needs work, his puck-handling needs work and sometimes he has a tendency to just let in some absolutely ugly goals.
Even with that being the case, he is still only 25 years old and has shown flashes of being a good goalie at both the AHL and NHL levels, especially in big-game moments. Goalie performance is also completely unpredictable at times and it wouldn’t be a shocking development to see him come back next season and put together a strong season in a platoon role with Sergei Murashov.
You need to bounce-back: Ville Koivunen
There were some reasonably high expectations for Koivunen going into the 2025-26 season, and he started off with a prominent role on the NHL roster. He did not always take advantage of it, finishing the season with just two goals and seven assists in 39 games.
The AHL numbers since coming over in the Jake Guentzel trade have been consistently excellent.
The talent and vision are not in question.
The underlying numbers when he is on the ice are consistently solid, and he always seems to find himself in good positions with open looks.
But none of it has translated over to NHL production just yet, and those open looks too often turn into harmless possessions with blocked shots, deflected shots or shots that just do not find their way into the net.
He is going to be 23 years old at the start of next season and with 94 points in 97 games over the past two years he is going to have nothing left to prove in the AHL. It is time for him to take the next step and start to show something at the highest level. If he doesn’t, he officially goes from NHL prospect to NHL suspect.
Not likely to bounce-back: Ryan Graves
Kyle Dubas’ first year running the Penguins produced more strikeouts than home runs. The only strikeout from that offseason that has not either 1) bounced back, or 2) been jettisoned somewhere else is Ryan Graves. And unless it is part of another salary dump from another team, or unless he gives up an asset to get rid of him (which he should not do) the Penguins are going to still have Graves playing somewhere in the organization. Most likely in the AHL.
He is going to be 31 next season. He has had three seasons here under two different head coaches. It is just not in the cards here for him to be anything more than an organizational depth defenseman with a high price tag. Sometimes when you swing big, you miss. They missed with Graves. It happens more often than not in free agency.
