These Penguins have been named among the top players this season by The Hockey News.
The Hockey News is currently in the process of revealing its Top 100 NHL players of the 2025-26 season rankings. So far, The Hockey News has revealed players 100 to 71.
Two Pittsburgh Penguins have made the rankings so far, as Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin both made the cut.
Karlsson was given the No. 98 ranking by The Hockey News. It is not surprising to see Karlsson make these rankings, as he turned back the clock in a big way this season. In 75 games this season with the Penguins, he recorded 15 goals, 51 assists, 66 points, and a plus-8 rating. He was a significant reason for Pittsburgh's turnaround this season due to his strong all-around play.
As for Malkin, he was given the No. 84 spot in The Hockey News' rankings. The 39-year-old forward was excellent this season for Pittsburgh, posting 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games. With numbers like these, Malkin demonstrated that he can still be a star in the NHL. It also helped him land a one-year contract extension to stay in Pittsburgh.
Overall, the Penguins got some excellent value from both Karlsson and Malkin this season. It will be intriguing to see what kind of years they put together in 2026-27 from here.