This is one of those days where I have a few thoughts bouncing around but I am not sure any of them are enough for a full, dedicated article. So you\u2019re getting a bunch of random thoughts just emptied out of my head for your consumption as the Pittsburgh Penguins open training camp.<\/p>\n
1. Does anybody need a strong camp more than Ville Koivunen?<\/p>\n
The most surprising, and some might say shocking, Penguins move of the offseason was actually one of their last moves when they signed Ville Koivune, after just 47 NHL games and only two goals, to an eight-year, $32 million contract.<\/p>\n
Given everything that\u2019s happened over the past couple of weeks, and especially the past few days in the lead-up to the start of the new CBA, it\u2019s starting to make a little more sense, and honestly doesn\u2019t look quite as baffling (and while it shocked me, I never quite saw it as THAT baffling and could see the thought process behind it<\/a>). Given the buyout rules, where the cap is going in the coming seasons, what player contracts are starting to look like, and all Koivunen needs to do to make it worth it, it\u2019s still a relatively low-risk, potentially high-reward deal.<\/p>\n EVEN WITH THAT, there are no good optics in the short-term for him showing up at camp, not earning a spot on the roster, and being sent to the American Hockey League after signing an eight-year deal.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s for that reason that he already has a spot \u201clocked\u201d in. And maybe, given the current depth at forward, it wouldn\u2019t be the end of the world if he did get sent down at the start (because they do have a lot of good players at forward), but it still wouldn\u2019t look great. Sometimes optics stand out more than facts and reality, but that still matters.<\/p>\n Everybody has talked about what a good offseason he has had. His underlying numbers this past season were some of the best on the team. There is reason to like him. But it is time to start turning all of that into tangible results on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n 2. The goalies will dictate the season and where it goes<\/p>\n In terms of the forwards and defense, I see this roster looking pretty similar to the one the Penguins were using in 2025-26. The forwards are pretty good, and pretty deep. I don\u2019t love the defense, but Erik Karlsson can still be an impact player and I do think there is a chance this current group will defend better than last year\u2019s (I like Declan Carlile as a potential under-the-radar steal; Trevor van Riemsdyk is a legitimately good defensive player; I am intrigued by what Kaeden Korczak can do in a potentially bigger role).<\/p>\n But going into the season with two young, still very unproven goalies is a GIGANTIC wild card that could take this thing in any number of directions.<\/p>\n Everybody loves Sergei Murashov\u2019s upside, and he has been great at every level since coming over to North America. But it\u2019s still just upside with him at this point, and the AHL isn\u2019t the NHL. He\u2019s still a young goalie, and young goalies are still completely unpredictable. His ceiling is high. His floor is low. There\u2019s a gigantic empty space he could fit in.<\/p>\n Arturs Silovs has had his moments, but consistency has not been his calling card in the NHL.<\/p>\n If these two guys put it all together and show they are ready for the big-time on a full-time basis, I could see a scenario where this team is not only back in the playoffs, but that it\u2019s ceiling is a little higher than last year\u2019s team and a higher than a lot of people are expecting.<\/p>\n If they are not ready for that? Or if they struggle? You might very well end up in a position to get the top-five pick you are still searching for.<\/p>\n 3. Egor Chinakhov and Nicholas Robertson intrigue me more than any other veteran players in camp<\/p>\n I know what Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to do this season.<\/p>\n I have a pretty good idea as to what Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are going to do.<\/p>\n The fourth line guys are what they are, and I know what they are.<\/p>\n There are a lot of unknowns with the younger players like Ben Kindel, Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Bill Zonnon, Harrison Brunicke, Tomas Galvas, and the goalies, but that is the nature of the beast with young players. Some of them will become NHL players. A couple might be really good NHL players. You might get lucky and one becomes an All-Star. Some will be a hit, most will strike out. As smooth Jimmy Apollo once said<\/a>, \u201cwhen you\u2019re right 52 percent of the time, you\u2019re wrong 48 percent of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n But Chinakhov and Robertson remain the most intriguing mysteries to me because they have some NHL track record, have shown some ability to be good NHL players, and they have very obvious NHL talents, but they are still very much unknowns.<\/p>\n Chinakhov is oozing with talent and top-line ability, and he really put it all together in the second half of the 2025-26 season after being acquired in the trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Was it a real improvement, or just a short-term flash? Can he still take a star turn? If he can, that changes some math for you in the short-term and long-term.<\/p>\n It is a similar question for Robertson, who has some very real NHL skills, and has scored goals at a top-line rate per minute, but has never really had an opportunity to show if that can translate into something more.<\/p>\n Is 30 goals out of reach for Chinakhov?<\/p>\n Is 20 out of reach for Robertson?<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think either is out of reach, but neither one is guaranteed to reach those levels. They are not quite as big of a wild-card as the goalies, but they remain wild-cards for what the team\u2019s success level and ceiling is.<\/p>\n 4. Which veteran is going to get waived?<\/p>\n After last year\u2019s training camp we see Ryan Graves and Danton Heinen get waived.<\/p>\n Matt Dumba and Philip Tomasino followed not long after during the season.<\/p>\n Given the forward depth it, where they legitimately have 17 or 18 players that could play on the NHL roster, it seems likely that somebody is going to get waived by the conclusion of camp.<\/p>\n