Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas doesn’t intend to be a big player in NHL free agency next month, which makes sense given that the Penguins are going young and probably won’t be trying to add higher-end players until next summer at the earliest as they try to piece together an assessment of where their prospects and younger roster players are at. Yohe also reported that Pittsburgh doesn’t plan to offer veteran center Evgeni Malkin a contract extension after next season, which further cements a transition to younger players for Pittsburgh.
That being said, Dubas did leave the door open to sign a few players in free agency. Yohe has speculated that Dubas will probably do something similar to last summer when the Penguins signed Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Grzelcyk to cheap one-year contracts.
If Dubas does intend to do the same thing as last year, he will be looking for similar results to last season’s one-year pacts. Beauvillier was traded to Washington for a second-round pick, and Grzelcyk set career highs in assists (39) and points (40). He was arguably the Penguins’ best left-side defenseman and will more than likely find a new home this summer as he looks for a lucrative multi-year deal. In total, Beauvillier and Grzelcyk cost the Penguins $4MM, and Dubas will be on the hunt for similar value. So, who could he target?
Up front, Dubas has talked about becoming more challenging to play against. Pittsburgh has arguably been the softest team in the NHL for quite some time and has rarely shown any pushback when games become physical.
The Penguins are also relatively slow up front, which didn’t suit former head coach Mike Sullivan’s coaching style, as he preferred to play an up-tempo game that relied on pace and relentless forecheck. They lacked the team speed to sustain that game and remain a relatively slow roster.
Dubas is looking for value deals, so he probably won’t find someone quick and heavy. Based on his own words, it’s fair to guess that he will prioritize the latter.
Anthony Mantha might be a player for the Penguins, given that he meets some of the criteria they would want in a UFA. He has a good size (6’5” and 234lbs), and some skill around the net, evidenced by his three seasons with more than 20 goals.
He will also likely have to settle for a one-year deal, given that last season, he missed most of the year due to injury and was already on a one-year prove-it contract. Mantha is 30 years old and will try to re-establish his value to get one final multi-year deal, which should make him a motivated player if the Penguins sign him.
Pittsburgh could flip him at next year’s trade deadline if he has a good year, allowing them to grab more future assets. Mantha will also be a good stopgap top-six winger for the Penguins if they opt to deal one of Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust.
Another name the Penguins could target is Kings forward Tanner Jeannot, who has just 27 points combined in his last two seasons and never lived up to the expectations placed on him when he was dealt to Tampa Bay for five draft picks. Jeannot has just 14 goals in his last 122 games and could get multi-year offers this summer, but they likely won’t come at the kind of money he is hoping for.
One team may emerge and overpay the 28-year-old, but if they don’t, it could be a good landing spot for Jeannot to play higher leverage minutes and get some time with the Penguins’ top six as well as on the power play. Jeannot could then re-establish his value for next offseason, and the door could be open for the Penguins to deal him at next year’s deadline.
Lastly, for the forwards, the Penguins could target Ottawa forward Nick Cousins, who had an injury-riddled first year with the Senators and will likely have to settle for another one-year deal. He can’t play in the Penguins’ top six, but he would add some sandpaper to their fourth line and has historically had decent underlying numbers.
Cousins played last season on a one-year $800K contract and will probably have to settle for a similar deal this summer, but should see a bump due to the increased salary cap. The Penguins could try to get Cousins on a contract identical to Beauvillier’s deal last year, which would be good value for what he brings to the team.
On the backend, the Penguins will likely target a left-side defenseman given that their left side is probably the worst in the entire NHL. Right now, Pittsburgh has Ryan Graves, Owen Pickering, Ryan Shea and Vladislav Kolyachonok on the depth charts. While Pickering looks like a promising prospect, and Shea has emerged as a bottom-pairing option, it’s a miserable picture overall.
Yohe has made the argument that Pittsburgh should target defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. While that would be an incredible get for the Penguins, it doesn’t seem plausible without a major overpay, something Dubas has said he won’t do this summer.
That being said, Ryan Lindgren could be an option if his market falls out or if the offers he receives are not to his satisfaction. Lindgren didn’t have the best season in his walk year, as he struggled with turnovers and wasn’t as assertive or physical as he had been in years prior.
He should still receive multi-year offers, which will take the Penguins out of the picture. Still, if he wanted to re-establish his value, becoming a first-pairing defenseman on the Penguins could go a long way if he were to sign there.
If Lindgren isn’t in play, there aren’t any other options for the Penguins on the left side, but they could look at a plug-and-play veteran such as Calvin de Haan. The 34-year-old is no longer the physical presence he was a decade ago with the Islanders, but he is still a capable NHL defenseman who can give you 15 minutes a night in a difficult matchup.
The Carp, Ontario native plays a low-maintenance defensive game, which is something the Penguins don’t have much of these days. The cost wouldn’t be prohibitive here as de Haan has played under one-year league minimum deals for a while now and will likely settle for the same this summer.
While this list may not excite Penguins fans, it is a reality that their team isn’t a prime destination for high-profile free agents. Perhaps next summer will be a different story, but for now, Pittsburgh is in a spot where they are looking to the future for success, but they need to ice a lineup for the here and now and won’t break the bank to do so.
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