The Penguins are days from opening night after a short camp, and Dan Kingerski says most roster decisions were made before anyone could force their way in. He walks through his projected lineup, from the locks to the waiver-bubble battle between Hendrix Lapierre, Filip Hallander, Elmer Soderblom and Justin Brazeau.

Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke have earned a third-pair look, but they don't fit the left-right balance behind Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. Kaedan Korczak hasn't stood out either, which makes the Parker Wotherspoon trade look odd. Dan grades Kyle Dubas after a strong 2025 draft, asks whether he outthought himself this summer, and explains why he doesn't see a playoff team in a tougher Metro.

In the live Q&A:

  • Ilya Solovyov's slimmed-down camp
  • Ville Koivunen's worst-case scenario
  • Liam and Markus Ruck setting up Rutger McGroarty
  • The Brayden Yager trade
  • Why Letang's game is shrinking
  • Whether the Penguins should have kept Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak
  • Jason Spezza's midseason youth promise
  • First impressions of the new ownership and Marcel Braithwaite

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Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to No Pucks Given
 03:03 Projected lineup: the locks
 04:05 Murashov's net to lose
 04:56 Why Lapierre doesn't fit
 07:20 What should happen on D vs. what will
 08:48 Projected pairings and the Letang problem
 10:50 Korczak and the Wotherspoon trade
 12:10 Why this isn't a playoff team
 13:09 Grading Kyle Dubas
 16:05 Q&A: Solovyov on the top pair?
 18:59 Injury conspiracy?
 19:34 Koivunen's worst-case camp
 22:46 The Ruck twins set up McGroarty
 26:07 Korczak and the Red Wings' cheap shots
 27:43 Is Dubas' pipeline flawed?
 29:04 The Yager trade looks worse
 31:32 Letang's game is shrinking
 32:57 How fans kept Malkin in Pittsburgh
 35:48 The players hold the leverage now
 37:06 Seller at the deadline?
 38:45 Spezza's midseason promise
 40:00 Should they have kept Skinner?
 45:12 Missing Brett Kulak
 48:44 Stunting the prospects?
 52:57 Kindel's gun show and Rust's role
 54:57 Silovs and the long shots
 56:53 Contract inflation and the Fantilli fight
 57:48 Pens need more sandpaper
 58:17 How scouts really work
 1:00:09 First take on the new owners
 1:05:14 Letang every night?
 1:06:00 Wrap-up

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