How Will Penguins Manage Veteran Defenseman’s Workload in 2026-27?

With less than a month to go before the official start of the 2026-27 NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have a lot of decisions to make regarding their roster.

Of course, the biggest story during this year’s training camp will be which prospects, if any, crack the opening night roster. Lineups and deployment will also be an interesting thing to watch out for, especially since there will be legitimate positional battles at all three junctures for the Penguins.

As intriguing as things will be on the forward and goaltending fronts, though, the blue line will be equally as interesting to keep an eye on.

With the left side being, pretty much, anyone’s game, the right side is a bit of a different story. On the right, two longtime NHL veterans in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang will populate roster spots – and their respective careers are in much different places right now.

Karlsson, 36, is coming off his best year as a Penguin, as his 15 goals and 66 points in 75 games as well as his spectacular play down the stretch of the regular season earned him Team MVP honors last season. He is, by all measures, still a top-pairing defenseman who can play at an elite level on a playoff team.

As for Letang? The 39-year-old has put together an impressive 20-year career in the NHL with the Penguins, registering 178 goals and 806 points in 1,235 career games. His production wasn’t bad for a player his age last season, either, with three goals and 34 points in 74 games.

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However, aside from the production falling off with age, it’s the other parts of his game that have become a bit of a concern. He no longer has the wheels to be the effective one-on-one defender he used to be, and he can’t get himself back in plays on the backcheck like he used to. His defensive zone reads are becoming an issue, the turnovers are a concern, and he isn’t quite as effective in transition as he used to be.

Letang’s minutes were reduced to 21:41 per game on average last season, which was almost a two-minute dip from the 2024-25 season. According to Moneypuck, he also had the worst mark among Penguins’ defensemen in expected goals against per 60 minutes (3.44), and his on-ice expected goals share of 49.4 percent was also the worst mark among the eight Penguins’ defensemen with more than 300 minutes of ice time.

It’s understandable to give Letang some benefit of the doubt here, especially since he had a rotating carousel of defensive partners throughout the season. He seemed to have a fair bit of chemistry with Brett Kulak in the short time he spent in Pittsburgh last season, and he did play better with Sam Girard in the last few games of the regular season and into the playoffs.

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But, at this point, it’s reasonable to suggest that Letang and the Penguins may benefit from slowly reducing his minutes. That is not necessarily a suggestion that Letang should be out of the lineup, as sheltered minutes could help maximize his performance in those minutes. Letang still has the capability of being a serviceable NHL defenseman, so as long as he is willing to adapt his game to be a bit more calculated and less risk-averse than it was in his younger years.

Down the stretch, we did see that a bit with him and Girard. Girard, 28, is a decade younger and plays a comparable style to Letang’s at the same age, and as they got used to playing with one another, Letang took a bit more of a backseat to Girard joining the rush and jumping up on the play.

If he continues to develop chemistry with Girard and can tap into that style of play moving forward, he’ll still be a valuable part of the Penguins’ defensive corps. But whether he should be doing this in top-four minutes is a different story.

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But things are not really that simple.

Karlsson will be the top right defenseman for this team, but he is also in the final year of his contract. Depending on how the season goes for the Penguins, he is a potential trade candidate, should he be willing to move. They also just acquired Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, and although the Penguins are intrigued by Korczak, he’s still largely a wildcard and has not been tested in a top-four role.

Then, there’s Harrison Brunicke – just named Pittsburgh’s top prospect on our annual Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects list – who will more than likely make a strong case for himself at training camp, just as he has done in the past two years. If both Brunicke and Korczak put on strong camp showings, how will the Penguins manage Letang? Could he potentially play his off-side? Will one of them unseat him for a second-pair role?

To start the season, the last thing is a bit unlikely. But, especially as the season goes on, it’s a distinct possiblity, especially if either one of Brunicke or Korczak gain any kind of momentum.

Regardless, the Penguins are set to have some tough decisions to make about their blue line, and Letang’s role is going to be one of the biggest questions heading into the 2026-27 season.