Despite a third consecutive season of disappointment in 2024-25, there were still a few bright spots for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Captain Sidney Crosby continued to show why he is still one of the best active players in the game – and one of the greatest of all time – by registering his record-breaking 20th consecutive point-per-game season. Wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust both cracked the 30-goal plateau and enjoyed career years. Young prospects in Owen Pickering, Rutger McGroarty, and Ville Koivunen came up and showed a lot of promise, giving the Penguins’ future outlook a boost.
But another player who flew a bit under-the-radar was forward Blake Lizotte.
Lizotte, 27, was signed to a two-year deal worth $1.85 million annually by the Penguins in the summer of 2024. He spent his previous six NHL seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, establishing himself as a reliable, speedy, gritty bottom-six forward with a touch of offensive upside.
He brought much of that same energy to the Penguins last season despite an unfortunate run of injuries in the early part of the season, and he ended up with 11 goals and 20 points in 59 games – which are respectable numbers for a role player. And – interestingly enough – he registered a good chunk of those points in a brief elevated role as third-line center in late November into early December, registering five goals and nine points in a nine-game stretch between now-departed wingers Michael Bunting and Anthony Beauvillier.
Lizotte was taken out of that role rather abruptly, though, and the Penguins didn’t look back. And, given their potential roster situation heading into 2025-26, what should folks expect to see from the tenacious 5-foot-9, 173-pound center this season?
It’s safe to say that Lizotte is probably not going to see much of an elevated role beyond the fourth line, even if he showed flashes of capability last season. With Rust and Rakell still on the roster as of now, the Penguins simply have too much forward depth for him to be afforded that opportunity. Guys like Tommy Novak, Anthony Mantha, and Philip Tomasino are more likely to occupy those roles, and prospects like McGroarty, Koivunen, and Filip Hallander will also be in the mix.
In other words, Lizotte will likely resume his post as fourth-line center. But, one big difference this season in comparison to last is that he may actually have the opportunity to play with linemates who could, potentially, bring out more of the offensive upside in his game.
Last season, Lizotte largely played with Noel Acciari and the likes of Danton Heinen and Kevin Hayes. While guys like Acciari, Heinen, and Hayes bring their own respective sets of skills to a lineup, one thing they didn’t bring was footspeed, which is an element that Lizotte thrives off of.
Ideally, Lizotte would be centering an energy fourth line: One that is capable of getting the job done defensively but also turning things around quickly the other way. That simply wasn’t possible with the guys he was playing with for most of last season.
This season should be a different story, however – especially if some of the younger guys make a serious push for the roster out of training camp, which would force the hand of Penguins’ management to offload some of the older bottom-six veterans who won’t provide as much future-focused value.
Of course, Lizotte himself could be a casualty of that situation. The reality is that he does have more trade value than some of the other guys in similar roles who would face the same predicament. But Lizotte also provides more value to the Penguins as a player, which is something they’d have to consider should the need arise.
Assuming Lizotte would stick around, however, he may get the opportunity to have a full season next to Dewar – who displayed some chemistry with Lizotte last season and also plays a speed game – and a guy like Justin Brazeau, who the Penguins signed out of free agency as an energy player. And if things shake out a bit differently, even guys like Tomasino or Hallander might drop down into a fourth-line role, which would provide some offensive upside for the line.
Overall, Lizotte should be in a much better position this season to have better, more consistent linemates as well as more consistent deployment. Hopefully, his health will hold up, too, as he was on a 16-goal, 28-point pace – which would have represented one of his two most productive NHL seasons.
He will still block a lot of shots. He will still kill penalties with relative ease. He will still throw his body and play the responsible defensive game that folks became accustomed to seeing last season. But, hopefully, some fresh linemates will be able to solidify Lizotte's line as a solid two-way threat and elevate his offensive game.
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