A new candidate for the No. 6 defense spot emerges in Pysyk

Mark Pysyk — Photo via GETTY

After acquiring Erik Karlsson earlier this month, the personnel of the Penguins’ defense corps seemed like it was pretty much set in stone.

Here are the eight capable NHL defensemen under contract for this coming season:

• Karlsson

• Kris Letang

• Marcus Pettersson

• Ryan Graves

• P.O Joseph

• Chad Ruhwedel

• Ty Smith

• Mark Friedman

It remains to be seen how the combinations will shake out, but Karlsson, Letang, Pettersson and Graves will make up the top four. You can take that to the bank.

Beyond them, Joseph figures to have the inside track on Smith for the spot on the left side of the third pairing, if for no other reason than the fact he was the one to hold that spot down for the majority of last season.

I’ve seen a few people suggest that Smith might end up playing with him on the right side, but the likelihood of a Joseph-Smith pairing coming to fruition seems about as low as the likelihood of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel not being backed up at all hours of the day.