Penguins announce 2025-26 team award winners
Defenseman Erik Karlsson wins a major award, while the fourth line wins two of them for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Mar 31, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) moves the puck against Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images 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.