With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason after a brief return to the postseason, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 53 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.
Starting with veteran Noel Acciari and going on through to prospect Bill Zonnon, every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.
This series is scheduled to be published every day until June 24, two days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)
Noel Acciari
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Age: 34
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 204 pounds
2025-26 NHL regular season statistics: 67 games, 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists), 13:42 of average ice time per contest
2025-26 NHL postseason statistics: Six games, one point (zero goals, one assist), 14:00 of average ice time per contest
Contract: In the final year of a three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $2 million. Pending unrestricted free agent on July 1.
(Acciari’s contract contains a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of eight teams he would not accept a trade to.)
Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, July 1, 2023
This season: Much like the Penguins as a whole, there weren’t a great deal of positive expectations for Noel Acciari. After all, he’s a fourth-line penalty killer in his 30s and the team was largely turning to youth.
But just as the team did, Acciari defied expectations in 2025-26 by setting some of the highest offensive figures of his career while remaining a steady defensive presence.
From the start of the season, Acciari was bolted onto the right wing of the so-called LAD Line with Blake Lizotte at center and Connor Dewar and that trio formed an effective fourth line that largely handled much of the team’s defensive duties during five-on-five sequence.
And while Acciari was routinely deployed on the right wing (66 of his 67 games saw him start on the starboard side), he wound up taking the third-most faceoffs on the squad with 594, winning 52.0% of those draws.
After an undisclosed injury sidelined him for 12 games throughout most of November, Acciari scored his first goal of the season on Dec. 9 during a 4-3 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 10, 2025
The high-water mark for Acciari during the season game on Jan. 31 during a 6-5 home win against the New York Rangers, when he scored two goals.
This fourth line ???? ????
(Via @espn) pic.twitter.com/Yx5FgkMF0y
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) January 31, 2026
From a special teams perspective, Acciari was one of the team’s top penalty killers, averaging 2:35 of short-handed ice time per contest (second-most on the squad).
In the postseason, Acciari aptly filled his role on the fourth line, which might have been the Penguins’ most consistent line during a first-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers over six games. Acciari led the team during the series with 20 hits and was strong in faceoffs, winning 61.0% of the 59 draws he took.
The future: In 2023, Penguins president of hockey Operations Kyle Dubas swung for the fences during his first offseason with the team and signed several established NHLers, including Acciari.
Few members of that free agent class really worked out but Acciari might have been the lone exception, albeit through the scope of the limited parameters his duties as a fourth-liner entail.
In his three seasons with the team, Acciari largely did what he was expected to as far as winning faceoffs, killing penalties, throwing hits and blocking shots. And by all accounts, he was a leading citizen within the dressing room.
That said, given his age and the youth movement the organization has largely undertaken, Acciari, a pending unrestricted free agent, just doesn’t fit what the Penguins need at the moment. And with forward prospects such as Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes, Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty waiting to claim an opportunity on the NHL roster, keeping Acciari only impedes their avenues.
Acciari did his job – and did it well – but it’s time to move on.