There will be multiple Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen representing Team Sweden this summer.
PITTSBURGH – Marcus Pettersson had a true breakout year with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023-24, playing all 82 games. His longevity and solid play earned him an invitation to represent his country at the 2024 IIHF World Championship for Team Sweden.
Pettersson accepted the invite and will join Team Sweden for his third World Championship tournament. Pettersson will join Penguins linemate Erik Karlsson on Team Sweden, while Rickard Rakell was forced to decline his invite due to an injury.
In his previous two tournaments, Pettersson played in a total of 12 games with just one assist.
He isn’t known as a fantastic scorer, but Pettersson set career highs in goals, assists, and points mostly playing with Karlsson on the Penguins second defensive line. Pettersson jumped from a plus-4 rating to a plus-28.
Defensively, Pettersson looked like the best defensive defenseman on the team throughout the season. On multiple occasions he was bumped to the first pairing with Kris Letang, and never once looked out of place.
Pettersson is about to enter the final year of his contract, meaning he is eligible for a contract extension when free agency opens up. While captain Sidney Crosby is the priority, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pettersson receive an extension before the summer is over.
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