Jan 22, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry (35) makes a save on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tommy Novak (18) during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Stable at the top with a swift undercurrent of change below. The Pittsburgh Penguins roster turnover has been remarkable since the start of the 2024-25 season.
The leak began with the Jake Guentzel trade at the 2024 trade deadline, for which the Penguins ultimately received Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, Michael Bunting, and a second-round pick that became Harrison Brunicke, but general manager Kyle Dubas accelerated the changeover in the following season. In total, there are a staggering 29 players who played at least a game for the Penguins in 2024-25 who are no longer with the organization.
Some left via trade, some via free agency, be it voluntarily or forced. Some of those players thrived elsewhere, while others dropped off. And even more dropped out.
For example, defenseman Matt Grzelczyk had trouble finding work after his 2024-25 season with the Penguins despite posting 40 points (1-39-40) in 82 games. He caught on with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent and contributed only12 points (0-12-12) in 69 games. Grzelcyzk wasn’t the only player who experienced a downturn after his time with the Penguins in the ’24-25 season.
Matt Nieto didn’t play hockey last season. Emil Bemstrom went overseas, and after asking out of his contract at mid-season, Jesse Puljujarvi played mostly in the AHL, except for five games with one goal for the Florida Panthers before dominating the Swiss league last season. Valtteri Puustinen suffered a similar fate after the Penguins traded him to Colorado for defenseman Ilya Solovyov in January, 2026.
While Solovyov is expected to be in the mix for an NHL role this fall, Puustinen was contained in the AHL for the remainder of the season and has since signed in Sweden. After demoting Philip Tomasino to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Dubas traded Tomasino on Dec. 31, 2025, to the Philadelphia Flyers for Egor Zamula (who refused to report to WBS, and the Penguins terminated his contract).
However, Tomasino remained in the AHL for the remainder of the season and signed an expendable one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators for $900,000. Perhaps the most notable trade since Guentzel has turned out well for the Penguins, though it’s a matter of subtraction, not addition. Dubas unloaded players with a mid-season trade in December 2025 that has created bemused fan reactions in Pittsburgh and consternation in Edmonton as the Penguins dealt Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers for goalie Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak.
In Edmonton, Jarry tanked with an .858 save percentage in 19 games and will be relegated to a three-goalie rotation this season. Unfortunately, Poulin, the Penguins’ 2019 first-round pick, remained in the AHL without getting a chance with Edmonton (and signed a two-way deal with Montreal, likely to play in Laval this year). Corroborative results have proven most of the Penguins’ changes correct; there have not been many players who expanded their roles with other teams.
Cody Glass, 27, might be the top of the class as he has become a valued piece of the New Jersey Devils team, scoring 19 goals with 26 points last season, and is seen as part of the team’s future. He is entering the second of a two-year, $5 million deal. Surprsingly–OK, shockingly–the player to get the biggest bump in NHL salary since leaving the Penguins is defenseman Vincent Desharnais, who doubled his previous paychecks this summer by signing a four-year, $16.8 million deal with the Washington Capitals.
The Penguins sent Desharnais to San Jose just 10 games after acquiring him during the ’24-25 season, and he was making $2 million then. The prudence of Washington’s contract offer aside, that’s more than double for the 30-year-old defenseman. But, largely, the players who exited maintained their career trajectories.
Lars Eller remains an intense 15-to-30 point bottom-six center. He signed a one-year deal with Florida worth $850,000 as he comes toward the end of his career at 37-years-old. Michael Bunting is currently one of the few remaining free agents, but after being traded to Nashville near the 2025 trade deadline for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn, Bunting maintained his mid-teen goal scoring and 30-point production.
The Penguins dealt Anthony Beauvillier to Washington for a second-round pick at the 2025 deadline. After scoring 13 goals and 20 points in 63 games for the Penguins, last season he posted 15 goals and 28 points with the Capitals. Despite more runway in Vancouver, Drew O’Connor’s production hasn’t substantially increased.
The Penguins traded O’Connor and Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver in exchange for the New York Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick, Danton Heinen, and Desharnais. Last season, O’Connor topped his career high in goals but by only one tally, scoring 17 goals with 29 points. Of course, Pettersson has remained a premier quiet, steady, and reliable defenseman.
The Rangers acquired him last month in exchange for a 2030 first-round pick. Heinen has remained Heinen, a versatile but shadowy depth piece capable of fill-in roles in the top-six, extended roles in the bottom-six, and occasional press box nachos. He had five goals and 10 points in 33 games for Columbus last season, and will remain with the cannon-popping Blue Jackets this season.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic has maintained his springboarded career in San Jose. He appeared in 40 games last season with a respectable .896 save percentage for the improved San Jose Sharks. Defenseman Conor Timmins suffered a fractured leg and missed most of the Buffalo Sabers’ rocket to the top last season.
He played in only 39 games, but that’s still more than P.O Joseph, who remained a depth defenseman for Vancouver, playing in only 31 games. And in case you’re curious, Ponomarev played in 55 games for the Omsk Avangard, producing 25 points with 14 goals. The Penguins still own his rights if he ever comes back to North America, but we counted him among the 29 no longer with the organization.