Most Important Penguins Entering the 2023-24 Season

Which Pittsburgh Penguins are integral to the teams success next season?

Hockey is considered the ultimate team sport. No single player can carry a team to a Stanley Cup Championship. The Pittsburgh Penguins have first-hand knowledge of that fact and have a long list of players who need to make a positive impact on the 2023-24 season immediately and constantly.

The Penguins' defense took a step back last season, often hemmed into their zone by opposing teams and allowing more high-danger scoring opportunities. Penguins' President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas saw this as a major concern, adding two significant pieces in the offseason, Erik Karlsson and Ryan Graves.

Karlsson and Graves offer different skill sets for the Penguins' blue line. In Karlsson, the Penguins are getting one of the premiere puck-moving defensemen of the last 15 years and a scoring threat at even strength and on the power play. Graves brings a shutdown defensive presence that has been missing from the top of the Penguins lineup since Brian Dumoulin's prime years from 2015 to 2019.

While those additions will be integral to the Penguins' success, it's the Penguins' mainstays who continue to hold the largest responsibility. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will again carry the offensive torch for the Penguins in 2023. Adding a skilled defenseman in Karlsson will help, but the aging superstars will need to repeat their impressive seasons from last year for the Penguins to have any hope of reaching the postseason again.

Scoring and defense will be paramount, but goaltending has been the Penguins' Achilles heel for the past three seasons. Tristan Jarry may hold the key to victory for the Penguins this season. If he can remain healthy and revert to his 2021-22 self, which he finished in the top ten in all major goaltending statistical categories, the Penguins may become one of the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference. 

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