The Pittsburgh Penguins announced their 2025-26 regular season award winners on Tuesday, with some of the biggest names on the roster earning the biggest honors. At the top of the list is defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Karlsson was voted the team MVP for a dominant season that helped keep the Penguins playoff push going when both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were out of the lineup.
Here is the full list of Penguins award winners for the season.
- Team MVP: Erik Karlsson
- Players’ Player Award: Sidney Crosby
- Unsung Hero Award: Noel Acciari
- Rookie Of The Year Award: Ben Kindel
- Defensive Player Of The Year Award: Blake Lizotte and Ryan Shea
- Baz Bastien Memorial (Media Good Guy) Trophy – Bryan Rust
The easiest award here is probably the Rookie Of The Year
award going to Ben Kindel. The 18-year-old went right from the No. 11 overall pick in the draft, directly into the NHL, and became a regular contributor for a team that is going to the playoffs. While he has had some quite stretches offensively, he has consistently been a difference-maker. He not only has an extremely bright future in the NHL, he has given the Penguins a brighter future as well.
The biggest honor is Karlsson getting the team MVP award.
Going into the offseason there was a legitimate question as to whether or not he would even be a member of the Penguins this season as trade rumors continued to circulate given the Penguins rebuild and how the first two years of his tenure here were viewed as a disappointment. Not only is he still on the team, he has been arguably their most important player this season.
Entering Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils his 14 goals, 50 assists and 64 total points are the most he has had in his first three years with the Penguins, with opportunities to keep adding to them over the next week. It is not just the offensive numbers that stand out or show his value. When he has been on the ice this season during 5-on-5 play, the Penguins have outscored teams by a 72-50 margin, while he has been the driving force behind a lot of that success. He is just in constant control every night. No player on the roster has benefitted from the head-coaching change from Mike Sullivan to Dan Muse more than him.
Lizotte and Shea getting the defensive player of the year award is also a solid vote, especially as it relates to Lizotte. There is a noticeable difference in the team’s play defensively, especially on the penalty kill, when he is in the lineup. He could have also been a worthy unsung hero award winner. The fact two players on that fourth line received awards is a testament to how good that group has been this season.
