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Examining The Penguins’ Road Back To Competitiveness

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The Penguins have been identified as the one true seller in the NHL this summer and for good reason. They have an aging core that can no longer carry a team, depth that is underwhelming (to say the least), and have arguably been the easiest team to play against from a physical standpoint.

All of that has led general manager Kyle Dubas to pivot into a rebuild that many have forecasted for quite some time. The Penguins made the playoffs for 16 straight seasons but haven’t qualified since 2021-22 and look destined to finish near the bottom of the standings next season.

This has led many to speculate that Sidney Crosby would look to play elsewhere; however, those claims have been disputed by many outlets. For his part, Crosby has balked at these rumours, going so far as to sign a two-year extension to remain in Pittsburgh through what will likely be some painful seasons.

All of this begs the question: When will the Penguins be a competitive team again?

According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Pittsburgh has set its sights on next summer as the time to be aggressive buyers. Currently, 2026 looks like a great year to have cap space, with players like Connor McDavid and Cale Makar slated as of right now to become UFAs.

That list of free agents will likely shrink, but there could still be high-end talent under 30 available, which might help the Penguins move beyond their rebuild. As of now, Pittsburgh has over $52MM of available cap space next summer (according to PuckPedia). While this number will decrease over the year, the point remains that they can choose to be major buyers if they wish.

The more likely scenario for the Penguins is that they spend the summer of 2026 adding to their prospect pool with their eight 2026 draft picks (and any additional picks they gain over the next year) or perhaps using those picks and other assets to acquire NHL players. Dubas has made it clear that he’s targeting young, NHL-ready players, and it’s hard to see that approach changing between now and summer 2026.

Two major wild cards will determine how long it takes the Penguins to become a Stanley Cup contender again. The first is where they fall in the 2026 draft order.

If Pittsburgh performs as poorly as many expect, they could win the draft lottery and get the chance to select Gavin McKenna. NHL conspiracy theorists would surely love to dissect that scenario if it were to happen, given that Pittsburgh has had several generational players come through the city via the draft.

The chances of Pittsburgh pulling that off, of course, are nowhere close to a given. That said, there are plenty of solid alternative options with forwards Ivar Stenberg or Ryan Roobroeck.

Neither of these players would have the immediate impact of a McKenna, but they would help the Penguins keep their rebuild on track. Pittsburgh can’t count on winning a lottery to speed up their rebuild, but if they did, it would accelerate the process.

The second major wild card for the Penguins’ rebuild is what happens this summer with the veterans whose names have come up in trade rumors – forwards Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and defenceman Erik Karlsson. Rust has reportedly been a hot commodity, and if Pittsburgh can trigger a bidding war, he could bring back a return that accelerates the team’s journey back to relevance.

The Penguins have made several short-term signings already this summer, including forward Anthony Mantha, who could play in Pittsburgh’s top six should they move on from a winger like Rust. Pittsburgh also has Rakell available, and if they can negotiate a first-round pick for the 32-year-old winger, it would provide another top-tier lottery ticket to help try and draft a future star in Pittsburgh.

Rakell is a difficult trade to forecast, as he is on a bargain contract and capable of scoring 30+ goals. He could be a key piece for a team looking for a winger but missing out on impact players in free agency.

Finally, with Karlsson, the Penguins have a piece that could be very desirable if his cap hit were to fall under $7MM, and less attractive if it exceeds that. Karlsson has long been a polarizing player, but as we recently saw with defenseman Seth Jones, sometimes a player who is overpaid can be more appealing when their cap hit better aligns with their level of play.

Karlsson is no longer a $10MM player, but he can still be very impactful with less responsibility. He maintains his offensive flair, posting 50+ point seasons in both years with the Penguins, and remains excellent at zone exits and transitional play.

If Pittsburgh is willing to retain a significant portion of his cap hit, they could acquire some solid young pieces that will help push them forward in their rebuild. However, if they retain Karlsson, they might struggle to trade him for anything of value, which won’t benefit them long term.

Just like with any rebuild, the Penguins will need a lot of luck for it to go as planned. Having lottery ball luck next year, as well as succeeding with moves to shed veterans, will speed up their rebuild.

If they don’t, it could lead to a rebuild that lasts half a decade or more. As the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers have shown over the past 15 years, top-end draft picks and finishing at the bottom of the standings do not guarantee success, and even when you get lucky with some picks and trades, those players you had high hopes for can fall apart.

The truth is that no one can predict how long the Penguins’ rebuild will take. Still, much of the groundwork for a successful rebuild will be laid over the next 12 months, and the rest will depend on how well the players already in the system develop moving forward.

At this year’s draft, Pittsburgh identified a specific type of player they were seeking and went out of their designated slot for almost the entire draft to acquire players that fit their vision. That strategy went against the consensus and could backfire on Dubas, but it was a brave and gutsy approach, perhaps one of the most unorthodox displays in recent memory.

However, that is what Dubas and the Penguins will need to do if they want to become relevant sooner rather than later – think outside the box, take big chances, and trust that their pro and amateur scouting is accurate about the players they are targeting. 2026 might be the target to turn the corner on the rebuild, but it probably isn’t the year they expect to contend.

Given the time it takes for prospects to adjust to the professional game, a safer bet is for the Penguins to become playoff hopefuls in the 2027-28 season. At that point, it’s hard to say whether Crosby will still be around, but if he is, the Penguins’ young players will have perhaps the best mentor a young NHLer could ever ask for.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rangers Sign Trey Fix-Wolansky To Two-Way Deal

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The Rangers are signing free agent winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to a two-way contract, sources tell Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers. Fix-Wolansky is listed on the Rangers’ roster on the NHL media site despite the lack of an official announcement. He’ll earn the league minimum of $775K in the NHL, per Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today. PuckPedia reports he’ll receive a $450K AHL salary with a $500K guarantee. The team has since confirmed the deal.

Fix-Wolansky, 26, makes the jump to the Rangers organization after spending the last seven years in the Blue Jackets’ system. A seventh-round pick in 2018 from the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, he’s long been an explosive scorer at the junior and AHL levels but has been held back from being a legitimate NHL threat by his 5’7″, 191-lb frame.

The Edmonton native got into NHL action in three straight seasons with Columbus from 2021-22 to 2023-24 but did not see a recall this season after clearing waivers during training camp. He’s totaled four goals and two assists for six points with a minus-six rating in 26 career appearances at the top level, averaging 10:35 per game.

As such, he projects more as an impact addition for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack and isn’t necessarily expected to be a legitimate competitor for an NHL roster spot. The three-time AHL All-Star has 259 points in 289 career minor-league games, including 26 goals and 60 points in 65 games with the Cleveland Monsters last year.

Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy

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The Sharks are signing free agent defenseman Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $13MM contract, sources tell Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The team has also claimed defenseman Nick Leddy off waivers from the Blues, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

San Jose has been looking to make a big financial splash over the past few days, at least per season, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. While also serving as additions to a thin defense, Orlov’s $6.5MM cap hit and Leddy’s $4MM cap hit put the Sharks over the $70.6MM salary cap floor in 2025-26.

Orlov, who turns 34 later this month, now cashes in on a short-term, high-AAV contract for the second time in three years. The top free agent of a thin 2023 class landed a two-year, $15.5MM commitment from the Hurricanes that time around, but it was clear there wasn’t a good fit for him to return next season with the emergence of top prospect Alexander Nikishin and the sign-and-trade pickup of K’Andre Miller from the Rangers filling up the left side of Carolina’s defense.

It’s a slight pay cut for Orlov after seeing his minutes dip below the 20-minute mark per game with the Canes – he’d cost $7.75MM against the cap for the last two years. He does land trade protection from the Sharks, though, after going without it in Carolina. PuckPedia reports Orlov received a full no-trade clause in 2025-26 and a 15-team no-trade clause in 2026-27 as part of the deal. In terms of the cash breakdown, Orlov will rake in a $5.4MM base salary and a $2MM signing bonus this year and a $4MM salary with a $1.5MM signing bonus next season. That low salary compared to the actual cap hit in the back half of the deal could make him an appealing trade candidate at that time.

The 5’11” lefty immediately becomes San Jose’s top defenseman. While he wasn’t the everyday top-four threat on an exceedingly deep Carolina defense like he was for most of his earlier career with the Capitals, he’s only a couple of years removed from averaging north of 22 minutes per game and will need to prepare to resume that workload with the Sharks. Over his two-year tenure with the Hurricanes, Orlov averaged six goals, 22 assists, 28 points, and a +10 rating per 82 games while logging 18:36 per night.

Orlov was a consistent 30-point threat with good two-way acumen during his peak in Washington. It remains to be seen if his age will prohibit him from reaching that level again with San Jose, but their excess of cap room and need for veteran defensemen, combined with only a two-year term, makes this a low-risk signing for general manager Mike Grier, despite his cap hit likely coming in north of his market value.

As for Leddy, the Blues placed him on waivers yesterday with one year remaining on his contract at a $4MM cap hit. St. Louis was looking to shed salary and open up roster space after adding 2021 first-rounder Logan Mailloux to their blue line in a trade with the Canadiens, so they exposed Leddy to the wire after failing to agree on a trade to send him elsewhere.

San Jose is now nearly $2MM over the cap floor, so they can’t flip Leddy to another club while remaining cap-compliant unless they retain salary. All three of their retention slots were full last year, but with Brent Burns’ previous contract expiring, they have one open now. The same goes for frequently speculated trade candidate Mario Ferraro ($3.25MM cap hit) and other potential trade chips like righty Vincent Desharnais ($2MM).

Along with Orlov, Leddy could step into a top-four role for San Jose on the left side, although he could also flex over to the right if necessary. The 34-year-old missed most of last season due to injury and only managed five points in 31 games when healthy, but averaged over 22 minutes per game for St. Louis the year prior and had 28 points with a +14 rating.

With the pickups and the still-delicate cap math to stay above the floor, there’s a bit of a log jam on San Jose’s defense. They have eight rearguards on one-way deals for next season – Orlov, Leddy, Ferraro, Desharnais, July 1 signing John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, and youngsters Henry Thrun and Shakir Mukhamadullin. None of them are waiver-exempt, and that list doesn’t include unsigned RFA Jack Thompson or top prospect Sam Dickinson. The Sharks likely won’t be willing to waive Thrun or Mukhamadullin, so the Sharks might still be in the market to add a high-salaried forward this summer in order to help facilitate a trade to create more opportunities for Dickinson, Mukhamadullin, Thompson, and Thrun.

Images courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images (Orlov) and Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images (Leddy).

Canadiens Re-Sign William Trudeau To Two-Way Deal

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After playing out the final season of his entry-level contract in 2024-25, RFA defenseman William Trudeau has re-upped with the Canadiens for another season, the team announced. His two-way deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $90K in the AHL with a $110K guarantee, per PuckPedia.

Trudeau, who was a fourth-round pick by Montreal in 2021, turned pro following his post-draft season with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. The 6’1″, 205-lb lefty played out his three-year entry-level contract exclusively with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

He’s yet to make his NHL debut, and that’s unlikely to change over the course of his fresh two-way commitment. He has 20 goals, 50 assists, and 70 points with a +16 rating in 198 career games for the Rocket, but his 19 points last year were a career low. While a fine two-way threat at the minor-league level, it remains to be seen if he can excel in any given area well enough to make an impact worthy of an NHL call-up.

Like Sean Farrell before him, Trudeau takes a deal that carries a lower NHL salary but a higher guarantee than his qualifying offer would have provided. The 22-year-old will be a restricted free agent again next summer.

With Trudeau signed, only Jakub Dobes and Jayden Struble remain among the unsigned RFAs in Montreal. The club has 40 of the maximum 50 contracts on their books for 2025-26.

Spencer Martin Signs With CSKA Moscow

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Now-former NHL goaltender Spencer Martin has signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, according to a release from the Kontinental Hockey League.

Martin, 30, heads overseas for the first time in his career after spending the last 10 seasons bouncing between the NHL, AHL, and ECHL. Instead of settling for the unenviable life of a third-string netminder in North America, he’ll be the undisputed starter for one of Russia’s premier clubs with Islanders 2024 fourth-rounder Dmitri Gamzin as his backup.

Martin split last season between the Hurricanes and AHL Chicago, his third NHL organization in the last three years. In 31 AHL games in 2024-25, Martin posted a 2.34 GAA, .909 SV%, three shutouts, and a 20-8-2 record. He struggled when called upon for NHL minutes, though, languishing with a .846 SV% and 3.89 GAA in seven starts and two relief appearances.

A third-round pick by the Avalanche in 2013, Martin has also made stops in the Lightning, Canucks, and Blue Jackets organizations in addition to his time in Colorado and Carolina. He has a 24-30-8 record in 66 career NHL appearances, logging a 3.56 GAA and .883 SV%.

Carolina anticipated Martin’s departure and replaced his spot on the depth chart by acquiring and signing netminder Cayden Primeau from the Canadiens. He’ll serve as the No. 3 behind Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov in 2025-26.

Hurricanes Re-Sign Tyson Jost, Noel Gunler To Two-Way Contracts

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The Hurricanes have re-signed center Tyson Jost to a two-way contract, according to a team announcement. PuckPedia also reported that RFA winger Noel Gunler has accepted his qualifying offer and will be back with the team on a two-way deal.

Jost was a UFA after spending the 2024-25 season with Carolina on a one-way contract, so there’s a potential for a pay cut if he ends up on waivers and in the minors. His deal pays him a $300K AHL salary with a $600K guarantee.

The 27-year-old spent most of last season as the Canes’ extra forward. He made 39 appearances, his lowest in a season since his six-game trial as a rookie with the Avalanche in 2016-17, and scored four goals and five assists for nine points while averaging 10:22 per game.

The 2016 No. 10 overall pick never reached his top-six potential but remains a valuable depth option with nearly 500 games of NHL experience. However, he’s cleared waivers multiple times successfully in the past few seasons, so it doesn’t look like there’s much risk for Carolina if they try to sneak him back to AHL Chicago at some point. He scored four goals and five assists in 14 games for the minor-league club last season.

Jost’s spot as the extra forward looks safe for now when looking at Carolina’s depth chart, but the team still has plenty of cap space to burn and is in on Nikolaj Ehlers, the top remaining UFA. They could pursue more depth forward signings as well – potentially a return to Raleigh for names like Jack Roslovic or Jeff Skinner, both of whom are still available. If the Canes make multiple forward additions ahead of Jost, he’ll likely be a waiver candidate if everyone is healthy in training camp.

As for Gunler, his QO will pay him a salary of $813,750 if he’s in the NHL next season and $80K in the AHL. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in 2020 but has yet to make his NHL debut. The 6’2″ winger has spent parts of the last three seasons with AHL Chicago, where he scored 13 goals and 26 points in 58 games last season.

Canadiens Sign Sean Farrell, Marc Del Gaizo To Two-Way Contracts

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The Canadiens have re-signed RFA forward Sean Farrell to a two-way contract and also added Group VI free agent defenseman Marc Del Gaizo on a two-way deal, per a team announcement yesterday. Both are one-year agreements.

Farrell’s deal pays him an NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $90K with a $110K guarantee, per PuckPedia. Del Gaizo’s contract is far richer; PuckPedia reflects he’s landed an AHL salary of $375K with a $450K guarantee.

Farrell, 23, was a fourth-round pick in 2020 out of the USHL’s Chicago Steel. A high-scoring pivot who can flex to the left wing, his size was the main reason he slipped in the draft, checking in at just 5’9″ and 174 lbs. He had an extremely productive two-year run at Harvard, including a spectacular 53-point sophomore season that earned him ECAC Player of the Year honors.

Although Farrell had already represented the United States at multiple senior national tournaments and was coming off a spectacular collegiate season, he hasn’t yet received an NHL opportunity since signing his entry-level contract with Montreal in 2023. In 114 games for AHL Laval over the past two seasons, he has 29 goals, 43 assists, and 72 points with a plus-eight rating.

Farrell could have accepted his qualifying offer, which included a $874,125 NHL salary for 2025-26. That QO only included an $80K minors salary, though, so he’ll take the higher guarantee in exchange for a lower salary if he ends up spending time on the NHL roster. He did break out for 20 goals in 67 games with Laval last year, so there is still a path for the undersized pivot to reach NHL minutes and see if he can convert his elite lower-level offensive production into big-league offense.

Del Gaizo, 25, makes the move to Montreal after spending his first four full professional seasons in the Predators organization. He was a fourth-round pick by Nashville out of UMass in 2019 and has spent most of his time with AHL Milwaukee since turning pro in 2021, although he did spend a slight majority of last season on the NHL roster.

After making his NHL debut in a nine-game call-up in 2023-24, Del Gaizo made 46 appearances for Nashville last year. He was serviceable in bottom-pairing minutes, recording nine points and a minus-three rating while averaging 16:45 per game. The 2021 NCAA championship winner also had an 8-4–12 scoring line with a +10 rating in 30 games with Milwaukee.

While he’s likely worth a shot as someone’s No. 7/8 option, Del Gaizo wasn’t going to get that in Nashville. The Preds were looking to get either bigger or younger on defense, and the 5’11” lefty doesn’t really fit either of those bills as he nears the precipice of his development.

He’ll fight for a spot on Montreal’s roster with names like unsigned RFA Jayden Struble, although if top prospect David Reinbacher earns a spot out of camp, that would presumably box Del Gaizo out of an NHL role with eight defenders ahead of him on the depth chart. Montreal still has 11 contract spots remaining and three unsigned RFAs in Struble, Jakub Dobes, and Willliam Trudeau.

Sharks Re-Sign Pavol Regenda To Two-Way Deal

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The Sharks have re-signed winger Pavol Regenda on a two-way contract, according to a team release.

San Jose acquired Regenda from the Ducks in January in a swap of minor-league forwards, sending Justin Bailey the other way. He didn’t see an NHL recall following the trade or at all this season, for that matter, after getting brief looks with Anaheim in 2022-23 and 2023-24. In 19 games over those two seasons, he scored a goal and two assists while averaging 10:49 per night.

The 25-year-old wasn’t an RFA this summer because he’d accrued enough professional experience for Group VI UFA status while playing less than 80 career NHL games. He could have signed anywhere else – including Europe – but instead returns to the Sharks organization on a deal that pays him $350K in the minors with a $400K guarantee, per PuckPedia.

The 6’4″, 212-lb winger from Slovakia signed with Anaheim as an undrafted free agent in 2022 on the backs of a strong showing at the Olympics and World Championship. Regenda now has three full AHL seasons under his belt and seems content in his minor-league role. He has 45 goals, 55 assists, 100 points, and 189 PIMs in 176 career AHL games, including a good 9-16–25 scoring line in 36 games with the Barracuda after the trade to San Jose.

With younger, higher-ceiling names likely taking priority for a call-up this upcoming season, Regenda should be on track to spend most, if not all, of 2025-26 down with the Barracuda if he clears waivers.

Capitals Sign Louie Belpedio, Calle Rosen, Graeme Clarke To Two-Way Deals

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The Capitals have added depth for their AHL affiliate with a trio of two-way signings, announcing deals for defensemen Louis Belpedio, Calle Rosen, and forward Graeme Clarke yesterday.

All three contracts carry NHL cap hits and salaries of $775K, the team said. Clarke and Rosen signed one-year deals, while Belpedio landed a two-year commitment. He also earns the priciest AHL salary of the trio at $575K, while Rosen will earn $525K and Clarke will earn $350K.

Belpedio, a third-round pick of the Wild in 2014, joins his fourth NHL organization. After spending time with Minnesota and Montreal, primarily in the minors, he landed with the Flyers in the 2022 offseason and has been in Philly on two-way deals ever since. He’s been an alternate captain for AHL Lehigh Valley for the last three years, and the 29-year-old righty recorded a 5-23–28 scoring line in 66 games last year with 88 PIMs and a +15 rating.

The Illinois native last saw NHL action in 2023-24, skating in a career-high 12 games with the Flyers. He notched two goals and two assists, his first points at the top level since he had two assists in his NHL debut for Minnesota in April 2018.

Rosen, 31, has 93 games of NHL experience compared to Belpedio’s 16. He’ll be the earlier call-up option if the Caps need a more offensive-minded defenseman on the roster. The 6’1″ lefty is three years removed from sniffing a full-time role with the Blues, recording 18 points and a +19 rating for them in 49 games in 2022-23 while averaging 15:36 per game.

The Swede played just six NHL games the following season, though, and didn’t see any NHL ice last year while on a two-way deal with the Avalanche. He’ll presumably take his talents to Hershey with no roster spots up for grabs on Washington’s blue line. The one-time AHL All-Star had 10 goals, 24 assists, 34 points, 24 PIMs, and a +22 rating in 62 games for the Colorado Eagles last season.

While the other two signings were outright UFAs, the 24-year-old Clarke joins the Caps organization after being non-tendered by the Wild. Minnesota picked the 2019 third-rounder up the prior offseason in a trade with the Devils as high-ceiling minor-league depth, but the 6’0″ winger ended up taking a step back offensively and didn’t land an NHL recall. He put together a 16-21–37 scoring line with a -13 rating in 64 games for AHL Iowa last season and has three games of NHL experience, all with New Jersey in 2023-24.

Devils Turn Attention To Luke Hughes Extension

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With the initial wave of free agency behind them, New Jersey Devils’ general manager Tom Fitzgerald is now making an extension with restricted free agent defenseman Luke Hughes his top priority, per team reporter Amanda Stein.

While the Devils have made a flurry of signings over the last 48 hours (headlined by re-signing goalie Jake Allen, and adding forwards Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov), and acquired the signing rights to RFA forward Thomas Bordeleau from the Sharks in exchange for Shane Bowers, Fitzgerald made it clear that his attention now shifts to Hughes. When asked if progress has been made on extension talks with his young defender, Fitzgerald stated, “No. But that’s my number one priority now.” When later asked if the club was still in the market for additional forward support, Fitzgerald doubled down by stating, “My number one priority now is signing Luke Hughes.”

This echoes Fitzgerald’s previous statements regarding his outlook for the offseason. At the beginning of June, Fitzgerald sat down with NHL.com’s Mike Morreale to discuss the team’s priorities heading into the offseason and acknowledged then how important it was for the team to extend Hughes.

He said at the time: “We’re just trying to figure out what’s best for Luke and for us and how do we make our team better with the funds that we have available… Both parties are in agreement… We’re going to get this done.”

Hughes skated in 71 games last season, posting seven goals and 44 points. He was injured in Game 1 of the team’s first-round matchup against the Hurricanes and underwent shoulder surgery in May. Fitzgerald noted today that Hughes’ recovery is progressing well and that he is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Hughes is projected to sign a long-term deal with a price tag north of $9MM by CapWages. The Devils currently have just north of $6MM in cap space (per PuckPedia), so even if Hughes signs for under that projection, Fitzgerald will likely have to make some moves to fit the extension into the fold.

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