Penguins finalize 23-man roster ahead of Thursday’s season opener

The Penguins have finalized their 23-man roster as the team prepares to face the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

The Penguins’ opening roster consists of 22 players (13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders).

The following players are returning from last year:

• Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust, Danton Heinen, Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Zucker, Teddy Blueger, Brock McGinn, and Rickard Rakell, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, P.O Joseph, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel, Tristan Jarry, and Casey DeSmith.

The team will have four new additions to the roster this year:

• Josh Archibald, who was signed as a free agent
• Jeff Petry, who was acquired in a trade with Montreal for Mike Matheson
• Ryan Poehling, who was also acquired in the same trade with Montreal
• Jan Rutta, who was signed as a free agent.

Captain Sidney Crosby is entering his 18th year with the team, passing Mario Lemieux for the most in franchise history.

The Penguins will kick off their season on Thursday at 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.