NPG 71: State of the Penguins: Opening Night Lineup, Letang's Decline and a "Weird Spot"

The Penguins are days from opening night after a short camp, and Dan Kingerski says most roster decisions were made before anyone could force their way in. He walks through his projected lineup, from the locks to the waiver-bubble battle between Hendrix Lapierre, Filip Hallander, Elmer Soderblom and Justin Brazeau.Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke have earned a third-pair look, but they don't fit the left-right balance behind Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. Kaedan Korczak hasn't stood out either, which makes the Parker Wotherspoon trade look odd. Dan grades Kyle Dubas after a strong 2025 draft, asks whether he outthought himself this summer, and explains why he doesn't see a playoff team in a tougher Metro.In the live Q&A:Ilya Solovyov's slimmed-down campVille Koivunen's worst-case scenarioLiam and Markus Ruck setting up Rutger McGroartyThe Brayden Yager tradeWhy Letang's game is shrinkingWhether the Penguins should have kept Stuart Skinner and Brett KulakJason Spezza's midseason youth promiseFirst impressions of the new ownership and Marcel BraithwaiteFollow Pittsburgh Hockey Now on YouTube, Facebook and X, and read more at PittsburghHockeyNow.com.Chapters:00:00 Welcome to No Pucks Given  03:03 Projected lineup: the locks  04:05 Murashov's net to lose  04:56 Why Lapierre doesn't fit  07:20 What should happen on D vs. what will  08:48 Projected pairings and the Letang problem  10:50 Korczak and the Wotherspoon trade  12:10 Why this isn't a playoff team  13:09 Grading Kyle Dubas  16:05 Q&A: Solovyov on the top pair?  18:59 Injury conspiracy?  19:34 Koivunen's worst-case camp  22:46 The Ruck twins set up McGroarty  26:07 Korczak and the Red Wings' cheap shots  27:43 Is Dubas' pipeline flawed?  29:04 The Yager trade looks worse  31:32 Letang's game is shrinking  32:57 How fans kept Malkin in Pittsburgh  35:48 The players hold the leverage now  37:06 Seller at the deadline?  38:45 Spezza's midseason promise  40:00 Should they have kept Skinner?  45:12 Missing Brett Kulak  48:44 Stunting the prospects?  52:57 Kindel's gun show and Rust's role  54:57 Silovs and the long shots  56:53 Contract inflation and the Fantilli fight  57:48 Pens need more sandpaper  58:17 How scouts really work  1:00:09 First take on the new owners  1:05:14 Letang every night?  1:06:00 Wrap-up