The Pittsburgh
Penguins hired Kyle Dubas president of hockey operations on June 1,
2023. Two months later, Dubas named himself general manager.
Since then,
Dubas has attempted to add younger players to the Penguins’
aging roster. However, he also brought in veterans like Erik
Karlsson, Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, and Matt Grzelcyk to support core
stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
The Penguins
missed the last two postseasons and are in danger of doing so again.
That could push Dubas toward shedding some veterans to create room
for younger talent. On the other hand, he could try his luck in next
summer’s free-agent market hoping to keep the Penguins competitive
until their prospects are ready for full-time NHL duty.
If the cap rises
to $92.4 million, the Penguins would have $25.2 million in cap space, with 14 active players under contract for 2025-26 and all their core
players signed. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson is their notable pending unrestricted free
agent and he could be shipped out before the March 7
trade deadline for draft picks and prospects.
Dubas could consider shedding more salary in anticipation of bidding for more notable
talent in next summer’s free-agent market. That could include
peddling Hayes ($3.6 million through 2025-26), goaltender Alex
Nedeljkovic ($2.5 million), streaky scorer Michael Bunting ($4.5
million), and young forward Blake Lizotte ($1.9 million).
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