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.)

Sam Girard

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 28

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 170 pounds

2025-26 NHL regular season statistics: 60 games, 19 points (three goals, 16 assists, 18:06 of average ice time per contest

2025-26 NHL postseason statistics: Six games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists), 19:50 of average ice time per contest

Contract: In the sixth year of a seven-year contract with a salary cap hit of $5 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2027

(This contract contains a nine-team no-trade list for the final three years.)

Acquired: Trade, Feb. 24, 2026

This season: Sam Girard’s ninth season with the Colorado Avalanche got off to a rotten start as he was injured in the second contest of the campaign on Oct. 9 and wound up on injured reserve, missing 15 games.

Back in the lineup by Nov. 13, Girard settled into a role on the left side of the Avalanche’s third pairing with partner Sam Malinski.

In 40 games with the Avalanche in 2025-26, Girard was primarily used in defensive scenarios, posting 12 points (three goals, nine assists) while averaging 17:41 of ice time per contest, including 1:02 while short-handed.

On Feb. 24, the Penguins acquired Girard and a second-round draft pick in 2028 from the Avalanche in exchange for Brett Kulak.

Immediately, Girard was placed on the left side of the Penguins’ second pairing with Kris Letang as a partner and the results were unappetizing.

Any hope Girard would make a fairly quick adjustment to his new surroundings was extinguished when he suffered an undisclosed injury on March 8 and missed the next five games.

Back in the lineup by March 21, Girard slowly started to figure things out with Letang as the Penguins pushed their way to securing a playoff berth for the first time since 2022.

In total, Girard skated in 20 regular season games for the Penguins and collected seven assists, while averaging 18:56 of ice time per contest, including 44 seconds while short-handed.

During a first-round series loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Girard and Letang continued to be teamed with one another and struggled a bit in the early stages of the series.

But as the series wore on, the Girard-Letang pairing proved to be largely dominant from a puck possession perspective. Per Natural State Trick, they were on the ice for 102 shot attempts for and 45 shot attempts against during five-on-five scenarios over six games.

The future: In April of 2025, during his season-ending media availability following the 2024-25 season, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas cited a need to improve the left side of the defense.

That pursuit landed Girard ten months later in a deal that was meant for the future, as Girard – who just turned 28 on June 12 – is under contract for another year.

(In contrast, Kulak – who just helped the Avalanche reach the Western Conference Final – is 32 and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.)

Everyone involved is presumably hoping for better results in the future than the mixed bag Girard offered since joining the Penguins.

After largely playing a man-on-man style of defense with the Avalanche for parts of nine seasons, Girard had to adjust to a zone scheme the Penguins employed and that proved to be a gradual endeavor for him. Additionally, playing with an aging Letang, whose play slipped throughout the season, did not aid Girard.

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With the benefit of a full training camp to learn the Penguins’ ways and perhaps even a change in defensive partner, Girard will be better suited to offer better results.

Regardless, more is needed from Girard to get better results on the left side of the Penguins’ defense.