This summer has brought plenty of new faces into the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room, mostly on defense. With several defensemen vying for spots on the opening night roster, not much is clear about what the defense pairings will look like to start the season.

Since 2015, the Penguins have had a reliable top pairing in Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin. But due to multiple injuries and a continued regression, Dumoulin isn’t as much of a sure thing as he used to be.

What options do the Penguins have for the top spot on the left side of their defense?

Brian Dumoulin

Brian Dumoulin is likely where the Penguins will start, as he has been Letang’s right-hand man throughout the past half decade. With so many other changes to the Penguins blue line, head coach Mike Sullivan may want to have something familiar leading the way.

Before being injured in the postseason, Dumoulin was experiencing his healthiest season since 2018-19, leading him to the highest ice time totals in his career (1,658). With Dumoulin set to turn 31 next week, his stamina presents a new issue, especially for someone who averaged 21:49 of ice time last season. Pair that with him collecting significant injuries in two of the past three seasons, and you figure the Penguins will need a solid plan B.

Marcus Pettersson

Once thought to be on the Penguins trade block, Marcus Pettersson could be one of the most pivotal Penguins on the back end. Pettersson proved last season that he is a more than capable top-four defenseman in the NHL, playing alongside John Marino on what became the Penguins shutdown pair. He figures to start the season alongside Jeff Petry but could be called upon to handle a more significant role depending on how Dumoulin rebounds from his knee injury.

This promotion would be a major jump in usage for the 26-year-old Swede, who has a career-high average ice time of 19:24, set in his first full season with the Penguins in 2019-20. He has been used sparingly on the penalty kill during his time in Pittsburgh, which could help lessen the blow of added ice time he would get playing with Letang at even strength. While Pettersson has proven to be a more than capable defenseman, this jump would bring many challenges and ask for more from the fifth-year Penguin.

Jan Rutta

Of the options behind Dumoulin, Jan Rutta has the most experience playing alongside a top 10 defenseman. Rutta spent last season with Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, he wasn’t given nearly as much ice time as he would see with Letang.

Last season, Rutta averaged 14:46 of ice time at 5v5 with the Lightning. Meanwhile, Letang collected an average of 19:17 of ice time at 5v5. Adding almost five minutes of even strength playing time and playing meaningful penalty kill minutes may be a lot to ask of Rutta. Not to mention that he would be playing on his opposite side. While Rutta has proven he can play up to competition, the added ice time may be too much for the big defenseman.

PO Joseph

At the very least, we’ve seen this pairing before. During P.O. Joseph’s first stretch in the NHL in 2020, he made appearances alongside Letang on the Penguins top pairing. However, with Joseph still needing more development, the duo was broken up following only a handful of games.

Joseph will be looking to impress the Penguins coaching staff at training camp to make the opening night roster for the first time in his career. Joseph is the best puck handler and skater in this group, but he may also be the worst at defending his zone.

Traditionally, Sullivan likes to match up one puck-moving defender with a more stay-at-home defenseman. However, we saw Mike Matheson play long stretches on the top pairing last season, so there may be room for another offensive leaning defender to play with Letang.

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