Penguins hire Muse as coach, sign forwards Mantha, Brazeau

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2025-26 regular season, which starts Oct. 7. Today, the Pittsburgh Penguins:

2024-25 season: 34-36-12, seventh in Metropolitan Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Anthony Mantha, F: The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract on July 2, looking to return from a torn ACL sustained on Nov. 5, 2024. He had seven points (four goals, three assists) in 13 games for the Calgary Flames last season. ...Mathew Dumba, D: The 30-year-old was acquired, along with a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, in a trade with the Dallas Stars on July 10 for defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok. Dumba could land on the third pair after having 10 points (one goals, nine assists) in 63 games last season. ...Arturs Silovs, G: The 24-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on July 13 for forward Chase Stillman and a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Silovs was 2-6-1 with a 3.65 goals-against average and .861 save percentage in 10 games (nine starts) last season and should compete with Joel Blomqvist for the backup role. ...Justin Brazeau, F: The 27-year-old signed a two-year contract on July 1. A depth forward, he had 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 76 games with the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild last season. ...Parker Wotherspoon, D: The 27-year-old signed a two-year contract on July 1 and could pair with Dumba after having seven points (one goal, six assists) in 55 games with the Bruins last season. ...Connor Clifton, D: Another third-pair option, the 30-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on June 28 for defensemen Conor Timmins and Isaac Belliveau. He had 16 points (one goal, 15 assists) in 73 games last season. ... Dan Muse, coach: The 43-year-old was hired as a first-time NHL head coach June 4 after serving as an assistant for the New York Rangers the previous two seasons. He replaces Mike Sullivan, who won the Stanley Cup in his first two of 10 seasons with the Penguins but missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs each of the past three.

Key departures

Matt Grzelcyk, D: An unsigned free agent, Grzelcyk had an NHL career-high 40 points (one goal, 39 assists) in 82 games last season. ...Alex Nedeljkovic, G: Traded to the San Jose Sharks on July 1, he was 32-22-12 with a 3.05 GAA and .898 save percentage as Pittsburgh's primary backup the past two seasons. ...P.O Joseph, D: Signed a one-year contract with the Canucks on July 2. He played his first four seasons with the Penguins before signing a one-year contract with the St. Louis Blues on July 2, 2024. Joseph was traded back to Pittsburgh on Dec. 18, 2024, and had one assist in 24 games. ...Matt Nieto, F: An unsigned free agent, Nieto had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 54 games in two seasons with the Penguins, including three points (one goal, two assists) in 32 games last season.

On the cusp

Rutger McGroarty, F: The 21-year-old had three points (one goal, two assists) in eight games for Pittsburgh last season and got a look on the first line with center Sidney Crosby after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on March 29 before sustaining a season-ending lower-body injury April 8. ...Ville Koivunen, F: The 22-year-old had seven assists in his first eight NHL games after being recalled with McGroarty. He could start the season on a line with second-line center Evgeni Malkin. ...Owen Pickering, D: The 21-year-old had three points (one goal, two assists) in 25 games as a rookie last season. Selected with the No. 21 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Pickering could earn a top-pair role.

What they still need

Decisions on Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson. Rust has chemistry with Crosby on the first line and has won the Stanley Cup twice in 11 seasons with Pittsburgh. Rakell led the Penguins with 35 goals as a top-six wing last season. Karlsson has led their defensemen in points in each of his two seasons since being acquired from the Sharks on Aug. 6, 2023. Still, general manager Kyle Dubas said he would listen to trade offers with Pittsburgh looking toward the future.

They said it

"At some point, we're going to have to make the call to go into this mode, to try to build, to transition to that next era of the team, contending again. We know what people say about the prospect pool and the (draft) class, and how long of a road people think it's going to be. But we are down there, and every ounce of our focus is about getting the team back to contention as urgently as possible." -- general manager Kyle Dubas

EDGE stat to watch

The Penguins ranked sixth in the NHL in high-danger shots on goal (656) last season, which included 634 by forwards to rank fourth as a team. Rakell led Pittsburgh and ranked tied for ninth in the League with 22 high-danger goals. Rakell (88 high-danger SOG; 97th percentile), as well as frequent linemates Crosby (87 high-danger SOG; 97th percentile) and Rust (79 high-danger SOG; 95th percentile) each excelled from high-danger areas last season. Penguins forwards accounted for 87.6 percent of their goals (212 of 242) as a team last season, the sixth highest mark in the NHL. -- Troy Perlowitz

Fantasy spin

Crosby led Pittsburgh with 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) in 80 games last season, the first time in his NHL career he has surpassed the 90-point mark in three straight seasons. He is also one of nine players with at least 50 assists in each of the past four seasons. Crosby ranked second in assists (40) and tied for third in points (56) at 5-on-5 last season. Though Rakell (70 points in 81 games) and Rust (65 points in 71 games) each set career highs in points last season, the rebuilding Penguins could opt to use Koivunen in one of those wing spots on the top line. Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Jake Guentzel trade in March 2024, Koivunen is a deep sleeper option and ranks in the top 10 of NHL.com's rookie rankings. -- Chris Meaney

Projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust

Ville Koivunen -- Evgeni Malkin -- Anthony Mantha

Rutger McGroarty -- Tommy Novak -- Philip Tomasino

Connor Dewar -- Blake Lizotte -- Justin Brazeau

Owen Pickering -- Kris Letang

Ryan Graves -- Erik Karlsson

Parker Wotherspoon -- Mathew Dumba

Tristan Jarry

Arturs Silovs