Rust will begin the 2026-27 season sidelined, as he recovers from an upper-body injury. The 34-year-old Rust matched a career high with 65 points (29G / 36A) in 72 games last season. Penguins' newcomer Nicholas Robertson has a chance to see an elevated role during Rust's absence.
Rust will not be available for Sunday's practice session and is considered questionable to play in the Penguins' season opener until he's evaluated and the team releases more information.
Brazeau's 2026-27 campaign is already off to a rough start after Pittsburgh announced on Friday that the 28-year-old bottom-six winger left practice with a lower-body injury and is uncertain of his status for the team's opener. Brazeau missed 18 games in 2025-26 due to injury but still put up an impressive 17 goals, 34 points and 104 SOG in 64 games in his first season in Pittsburgh.
Kindel suffered a lower-body injury in Monday's preseason game, did not return, and has been sidelined since. Team doctors are still evaluating him, but he has been listed as week-to-week. The 19-year-old forward enters his sophomore season after scoring 35 points (17G / 18A) in 77 games with Pittsburgh in 2025-26.
At age 27, Brazeau had a breakout 2025-26 season, scoring a career-high 34 points (17G / 17A) in 64 games with the Penguins. He is temporarily sidelined during training camp due to a lower-body injury, but the team hopes he can provide reliable depth scoring again in 2026-27.
Koivunen is tending to an upper-body injury, but is not expected to miss significant time. The 23-year-old Finnish forward is expected to play a sizeable role for Pittsburgh this season after signing a massive 8-year, $32,000,000 contract ($4M AAV). He scored seven points (2G / 5A) last season in 39 games.
The Penguins did not provide a concrete update on Kindel's injury, but his departure from the game may have been more precautionary. He missed training camp on Tuesday but isn't expected to miss significant time, listed as day-to-day. The 19-year-old forward is entering his sophomore season after scoring 35 points (17G / 18A) last season in 77 games with Pittsburgh.
Lizotte missed training camp on Monday and is expected to be sidelined week to week due to an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old bottom-six forward is entering his third season with the Penguins and is coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which he scored 19 points (7G / 12A) in 55 games.
Galves was Pittsburgh's 2026 2nd round pick (54th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Thursday. The 20-year-old Czechia defensemen represented his country at both the World Championships and the Under-20 Campionships in 2025-26 while playing majority of his club hockey for Bílí Tygři Liberec (Czechia). He is expected to start the season in Wilkes-Barre (AHL) as he gets used to his first taste of North American hockey.
Gustafsson has been unable to establish himself as a full-time NHLer and will hope a change of scenery, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins, can inspire some confidence and more consistent play. The 26-year-old forward has played 149 career NHL games, all with the Winnipeg Jets, but he spent the entire 2025-26 season in the AHL, where he scored 32 points (10G / 22A) in 48 games with the Manitoba Moose.
