Current Penguins That Could Crack 2026 Olympics Rosters

NHL players might be heading back to the Olympics, and a few Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to represent their countries.

It might still be a couple of years away, but planning has already begun between the NHL and NHLPA to allow their players to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

If NHL players make it to the 2026 games in Italy, it’ll be their first appearance since 2014, and there are multiple Penguins who would have a chance at making a lineup and representing their home countries.

Quite a few Penguins have experience representing their country in various forms, but the next Winter Olympics is a little under three years away, a lot of players can improve or decline in that time.

By 2026, Sidney Crosby will be pushing 40-years-old, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be left off of Team Canada’s Olympics roster.

Crosby might be taking a back seat at the center position behind guys like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and possibly even Connor Bedard, but Crosby has the ability to play at both ends of the ice like a true depth center.

Beyond the skill that each player brings, putting Crosby, McDavid, and MacKinnon on the same roster is much watch hockey, no matter their ages.

If Crosby is able to maintain his skillset deep into his career, there’s no reason why he’s be left off of the Olympics roster.

It’s a longshot, but when he is healthy and on his game, Tristan Jarry is one of the best goalies in the NHL.

Early predictions have Carter Hart or Devon Levi as Team Canada’s goalies, and Jarry has a couple of season to prove he’s better than both of those names.

Levi will be a tough approach, but given the bad luck Hart has run into with the Philadelphia Flyers, Jarry can easily hurdle him in terms of skill and success.

Team Canada is normally stacked with talent, but there is reason to believe Jarry could make a solid case to crack the lineup.

American hockey has seen to awesome growth and many more superstars in the NHL, and while Jake Guentzel might be an underrated talent, he’s among the best of the best.

Guentzel is already twice a 40-goal scorer, and sniffed around that number with 36 in 2022-23.

With a couple more seasons under his belt, Guentzel can continue to prove his goal scoring acumen, even if he crosses the 30-year-old threshold next year.

In the year 2026, Guentzel isn’t a lock to play internationally, but he may have some help behind the bench.

Before NHL players lost their chance to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics, Penguins’ head coach Mike Sullivan was chosen to be the bench boss for Team USA.

Assuming Sullivan can get the Penguins back into the postseason and maintain his status as one of the best American-born coaches in the NHL, he should retain his job into 2026.

Much like Jarry, Marcus Pettersson will need these next few seasons to prove his worth on the international stage.

Pettersson won’t bring a ton of offense to a Team Sweden blue line, but he has time to grow into a solid shutdown defenseman that can play with the best of them.

Already one of the best young defenders on the Penguins, Petterson will still be under the age of 30 come the 2026 games.

30-years-old may be a touch past his prime, but if the Penguins are able to land fellow Sweden native Erik Karlsson, those two could share a line in Pittsburgh and in Italy.

If Crosby had Chris Kunitz make an Olympics roster, why couldn’t Karlsson get Pettersson on the roster?

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