Looking at some bounce-back candidates for the 2026-27 Penguins

Possible bounce-back: Arturs Silovs

Recency bias might tell us there is nothing for him to bounce back from because of how he played in the playoffs when he got his opportunity. And he was fantastic in those three games, giving the Penguins a fighting chance and nearly pushing them to a Game 7 out of a 3-0 series hole. But his season overall wasn’t great. His .887 save percentage ranked 44th out of the 59 goalies that appeared in at least 25 games. His minus-8.3 goals saved above average ranked 79th out of 98 goalies that played in at least one game. His minus-11.9 goals saved above expected ranked 89th of 98 goalies. Objectively speaking, he was not great. His rebound control needs work, his puck-handling needs work and sometimes he has a tendency to just let in some absolutely ugly goals. Even with that being the case, he is still only 25 years old and has shown flashes of being a good goalie at both the AHL and NHL levels, especially in big-game moments. Goalie performance is also completely unpredictable at times and it wouldn’t be a shocking development to see him come back next season and put together a strong season in a platoon role with Sergei Murashov.

You need to bounce-back: Ville Koivunen

There were some reasonably high expectations for Koivunen going into the 2025-26 season, and he started off with a prominent role on the NHL roster. He did not always take advantage of it, finishing the season with just two goals and seven assists in 39 games. The AHL numbers since coming over in the Jake Guentzel trade have been consistently excellent. The talent and vision are not in question. The underlying numbers when he is on the ice are consistently solid, and he always seems to find himself in good positions with open looks. But none of it has translated over to NHL production just yet, and those open looks too often turn into harmless possessions with blocked shots, deflected shots or shots that just do not find their way into the net. He is going to be 23 years old at the start of next season and with 94 points in 97 games over the past two years he is going to have nothing left to prove in the AHL. It is time for him to take the next step and start to show something at the highest level. If he doesn’t, he officially goes from NHL prospect to NHL suspect.

Not likely to bounce-back: Ryan Graves

Kyle Dubas’ first year running the Penguins produced more strikeouts than home runs. The only strikeout from that offseason that has not either 1) bounced back, or 2) been jettisoned somewhere else is Ryan Graves. And unless it is part of another salary dump from another team, or unless he gives up an asset to get rid of him (which he should not do) the Penguins are going to still have Graves playing somewhere in the organization. Most likely in the AHL. He is going to be 31 next season. He has had three seasons here under two different head coaches. It is just not in the cards here for him to be anything more than an organizational depth defenseman with a high price tag. Sometimes when you swing big, you miss. They missed with Graves. It happens more often than not in free agency.