The Pittsburgh Penguins have options when deploying their bottom six.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will open training camp next month in Cranberry with a significantly different group than when they dispersed for the offseason. Kyle Dubas has signed 16 players and made three trades this offseason, addressing several weaknesses in the Penguins lineup.

One of the Penguins' remaining weaknesses is their bottom six forwards. Dubas only marginally improved that group, but what he did do was give head coach Mike Sullivan options and create more competition for those roles.

The signings of Lars Eller and Noel Acciari give the Penguins a defined center core behind stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. However, all four wing positions in the bottom six will be up for grabs when training camp opens in late September.

Jeff Carter will have a leg up on the rest of the group due to his 35+ contract and is in no danger of beginning the season with the AHL Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The same goes for Matt Nieto, who signed a two-year contract with the Penguins on the opening day of free agency in July.

Even with those four players penciled into the NHL roster, three spots are up for grabs, and over a half dozen players could vie for those positions. Drew O'Connor will enter camp as the most likely forward to take one of those remaining spots. 

The 25-year-old utility forward played 46 games with the Penguins last season, scoring five goals and getting valuable penalty-killing experience late in the season.

The competition for the final spots in the Penguins' bottom six will be one of the top storylines to follow throughout camp, and it will allow Sullivan to build the team he wants for the 2023-24 season.

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