Latest On Evgeni Malkin’s Future With Penguins
Although much has been made of Sidney Crosby‘s future with the Pittsburgh Penguins over the last few weeks, Evgeni Malkin remains the most pressing issue. The 19-year veteran is entering the final year of his four-year, $24.4MM contract with the Penguins, and has made few indications regarding the next chapter of his playing career.
Speaking with reporters this morning, Malkin appeared to hedge his bets when it comes to his staying in Pittsburgh. He originally stated a desire to play an additional year with the Penguins beyond the 2025-26 season. Still, he wants to finish his career in Pittsburgh regardless (via Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
However, when pressed about his no-movement clause, Malkin pointed to Brad Marchand‘s example from last year, when he used his modified no-trade clause to join the Florida Panthers and win the second Stanley Cup of his career. Per NHL correspondent Wes Crosby, Malkin said, “It’s hard, you know? But again, we see a story, like, with Brad Marchand. Looking good, you know? But again, if the team trades you and you (don’t) win the Cup, it’s like a little bit weird, too, you know?”
By acknowledging his desire to stay with Pittsburgh beyond the 2025-26 campaign, Malkin has put the ball back in Kyle Dubas‘s court. In June, two reports from Josh Yohe of The Athletic and the Penguins’ own Josh Getzoff indicated that the team has little desire to offer Malkin a new contract, regardless of his play in the upcoming season.
Those reports led many to believe that Malkin and his representation would begin looking at different options (likely around the Olympic break) or retire next summer. Unlike Marchand, Malkin’s no-movement clause means he’ll have full control over whether Pittsburgh trades him by this year’s trade deadline.
Regardless, Malkin would immediately become one of the best center options available at the deadline, with plenty of competitive teams having a glaring hole on the second line. Despite the team missing the postseason the past three years, Malkin has remained productive, recording 70 goals and 200 points in 232 games, averaging 18:21 of ice time.
Furthermore, Malkin has been a quality scorer in the playoffs, even though the Penguins haven’t reached beyond the second round since their most recent Stanley Cup championship in 2017. From 2018 to 2022, Malkin scored nine goals and 23 points in 28 playoff games.
The expectation is that the situation will play out over the regular season. Given the state of the roster, there’s little reason to keep Malkin this season or next. Still, much like Crosby, Pittsburgh’s top brass has typically honored the wishes of its franchise icons.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Hayes Injured At Practice
- Penguins center Kevin Hayes left practice early today after taking a hit from Ryan Graves. Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays (Twitter link) that head coach Dan Muse didn’t have an immediate update after practice and that he’s still being evaluated. The 33-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and is coming off a relatively quiet year last season where he scored just 13 goals and 10 assists in 64 games, his first year with Pittsburgh.
Penguins Not Interested In Pursuing Carter Hart
- If the Pittsburgh Penguins want prospect Joel Blomqvist to have more seasoning in the AHL, and Arturs Silovs doesn’t build on his excellent AHL campaign last year, the Penguins have little else behind Tristan Jarry, if he’s even capable of handling a majority of the workload. Regardless, they won’t be seeking outside help from a former top-prospect netminder who was recently allowed back into the NHL. Earlier today, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that Pittsburgh wouldn’t be one of the teams targeting Carter Hart over the next couple of weeks.
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Rutger McGroarty Likely To Start Season On IR
Penguins top prospect Rutger McGroarty did not appear on Pittsburgh’s training camp roster as the team announced he and a few others were not medically cleared to participate. It appears McGroarty’s absence carries some more weight than the rest, though. General manager Kyle Dubas said today that McGroarty has an upper-body injury and will be out indefinitely, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com. While not officially ruled out for the start of the season, an indefinite timeline is essentially a guarantee for missed time with less than three weeks until puck drop.
Acquired from the Jets in a rare prospect-for-prospect blockbuster last offseason, McGroarty immediately signed with the Penguins and turned pro after spending the prior two seasons at the University of Michigan. The 21-year-old broke camp with the Pens but didn’t last very long, going pointless in three outings before being sent to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On the whole, his offensive success was a tad underwhelming. He ended up on a hot streak to end the year, but a difficult adjustment period early on led to a final scoring line of 14-25–39 in 60 minor-league games with a -10 rating. According to Byron Bader’s NHLe model, which tracks how a player’s point production in different amateur/minor leagues translates to the NHL over an 82-game pace, McGroarty’s production dropped from an equivalent of 51 points during his sophomore season at Michigan to just 31 in the AHL last year.
It was a concerning dropoff for a bit, but his hot streak with WBS got him a late-season recall. He looked more comfortable in the NHL that time around, scoring a goal and two assists in five games before a lower-body issue ended his season with a few games left on the schedule. That, plus his collegiate track record and pedigree as a No. 14 overall pick, still has him ranked as the retooling club’s No. 1 prospect according to NHL.com and Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff.
That momentum will pause here. While there aren’t as many forward jobs in Pittsburgh for young players to compete for as some were expecting – trade chips Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust both remain factors for now – those two are the only top-six locks on the wings with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to open the year. McGroarty was going to be a leading candidate to grab one of the other two top-six wing openings with a strong camp.
Instead, it’ll be other young names like the 22-year-old Ville Koivunen, who had 56 points in 63 AHL games last year and seven assists in an eight-game NHL call-up, getting that chance. Veteran reclamation projects like Anthony Mantha could get a look alongside Crosby or Malkin as well.
Penguins Expected To Sign Robby Fabbri To PTO
The Penguins are bringing in winger Robby Fabbri to training camp on a professional tryout, reports Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Fabbri spent the 2024-25 season with the Ducks. He played a prominent role when in the lineup, averaging 16:12 of ice time per game, but injuries once again took a significant bite out of his season. He underwent knee surgery in November, which cost him a month, before sustaining a season-ending hand injury in late February. He finished the year with an 8-8–16 scoring line in 44 games. That worked out to 0.36 points per game, his worst production in six years and the second-worst season of his career.
That’s a concerning drop-off for a player whose ability to produce effectively when he’s able to go is his only real calling card. Fabbri has only played more than 60 games in a season three times in his nine-year career. The last time he didn’t miss at least 10 consecutive games in a season was back before the pandemic in 2019-20. Despite him averaging the third-most ice time of his career, Fabbri only recorded 1.48 shots on goal and 2.52 shot attempts per game for Anaheim, both significantly below his career averages of 1.67 and 2.83, respectively.
Understandably, that led to some tampered interest on the open market this summer, especially as he’s set to turn 30 midseason. It’s also worth noting he spent last year in one of the league’s worst offensive environments. Only two teams scored fewer goals than the Ducks’ 217, and they were squarely in the bottom half of every shot and chance generation metric at 5-on-5. Fabbri’s career average is right around 0.50 points per game and, up until last year, he’d been fairly consistent in that regard. From 2019-20 to 2023-24 with the Blues and Red Wings, Fabbri’s points per game stayed between 0.47 and 0.60 each season.
That makes him a buy-low candidate for a rebuilder in Pittsburgh. If they find a spot for him among their myriad young forwards competing for opening-night jobs along with other already-signed reclamation projects like Anthony Mantha, he could end up generating an additional draft pick for them if they sign him to a deal and flip him at the trade deadline. He joins career minor-leaguer Brett Murray as reported PTO attendees to the Pens’ camp.
Red Wings Interested In Trading For Erik Karlsson
Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in rebuild mode, much has been made this offseason about the potential trade candidacy of the trio of Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson. Regarding the latter candidate, while speaking on the Kevin Karius Show, Josh Yohe of The Athletic expects a trade to be completed sooner rather than later, with one team in particular leading the pack.
If the Red Wings considered taking on Karlsson’s full salary, it would limit any potential trade return for the Penguins, but it could be the best option for the rebuilding club. It’s not complicated to ascertain Detroit’s purported interest in Karlsson, as the right side of their defense behind Moritz Seider is undeniably thin.
Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Marc-Andre Fleury To PTO
The Flower is back where it all began. The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that the club’s legendary netminder Marc-Andre Fleury has signed a PTO with the team and will appear in parts of the team’s September 27th exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It is important to make clear that it does not appear that this time that Fleury is set to go back on his retirement announcement from earlier this year and attempt to play one final season in the NHL. Instead, this PTO signing, according to the Penguins, is a way for Fleury to have a “full-circle” moment and celebrate his retirement and his career with the franchise he won three Stanley Cups with. In the team’s official announcement of the signing, general manager Kyle Dubas said:
The entire Penguins organization is honored to welcome Marc-Andre Fleury back to the ice in Pittsburgh. This past year everyone witnessed how beloved and respected Marc is in the game of hockey, but the adoration goes beyond his accolades and career. Marc means so much to our team, our fans and the City of Pittsburgh because of the person he is and the example he set. The Penguins feel he and his family are most-deserving of this opportunity to celebrate this full-circle moment back where it all started in front of the black and gold faithful.
So it appears one should not expect Fleury to be competing with Tristan Jarry, Joel Blomqvist, and Arturs Silovs for a spot on the club’s season-opening roster. Penguins fans nonetheless have reason to be excited by this transaction, even if it is more ceremonial in nature. Fleury, beloved by Penguins fans and hockey fans alike, will now be able to play for the club one last time.
Fleury, who is widely expected to be elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame at some point down the line, is the Penguins’ all-time leader in wins, starts, and goals-against-average. (minimum 50 starts) He was drafted number-one overall by the club at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and led the team to victory in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. He split time with Matt Murray in both 2016 and 2017 when the franchise won two additional Stanley Cups, and it was Murray’s presence that led to Fleury’s exit from Pittsburgh via selection in the expansion draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Now, with this PTO signed, Fleury will return to Pittsburgh and, even if just for a preseason game, suit up for the Penguins one last time before hanging up his skates for good.
Penguins Sign Brett Murray To PTO
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed their first PTO of the preseason, adding winger Brett Murray to their organization on a tryout basis, according to insider Frank Seravalli. Murray played 2024-25 on a one-year, two-way contract that was worth $775k at the NHL level and $350k at the AHL level.
Out of the four players who have signed a PTO this morning (Murray, Andrej Sustr, Daniel Walcott, and Josh Lopina) it is Murray who has most recently played in NHL games. The 27-year-old skated in three games for the Buffalo Sabres in 2024-25, and two for the club in 2023-24. Murray has been with the Sabres organization since they selected him in the fourth round, 99th overall, at the 2016 Entry Draft.
Murray took a somewhat unconventional path to professional hockey, playing parts of two college hockey seasons with Penn State before returning to his junior club, the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, after his sophomore campaign in State College. Murray never quite found his groove with the Nittany Lions, but he led the USHL in goals with the Phantoms, a performance that earned him a one-year AHL contract with the Rochester Americans in advance of the 2019-20 campaign.
The signing of Murray immediately paid dividends for the Americans, as he had a solid 24-point rookie campaign that year, and just one year later, registered 20 points in 27 games whilst earning his first NHL call-up. Murray developed into one of the Americans’ more reliable scorers, and most recently registered a career-best 27 goals and 49 points across 66 games in 2024-25.
Despite his quality production across more than a half-decade in Western New York, the Sabres informed Murray that they would not be offering him a contract to remain with the team for 2025-26. Murray’s 69 games played across the NHL and AHL last season put him to a career total of 351 pro games across both leagues. As a result, Murray, who began last season with 282 pro games, is now a full-status veteran player within the purview of the AHL’s development rule.
The AHL’s development rule places a strict limit on the number of players who are not considered “development players” that a team can dress for any given game. The rule has been somewhat controversial for the league’s veteran players, and has been cited by reporters covering the AHL as a reason for many quality AHL players having trouble keeping a spot in the league. Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis quoted a veteran free agent one year ago who named the rule as a major reason as to why he could not remain with his former AHL club.
With that in mind, it is possible that Murray’s status as a “veteran” player played a role in his exit from Rochester after a strong offensive season with the club. In Pittsburgh, Murray will have an opportunity to factor into the team’s roster-building considerations.
While the Penguins appear set to focus on more homegrown youth this upcoming season, it remains possible that Murray has a strong preseason and earns a spot with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Murray’s 49 points last season would have tied him for second in scoring on the 2024-25 edition of the AHL Penguins, and with leading scorer Ville Koivunen a real candidate to make it to the NHL on a full-time basis, its possible the team could look to Murray to give them some more offensive firepower.
Agent Comments On Sidney Crosby’s Future With Penguins
The agent for Penguins franchise icon Sidney Crosby, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports, spoke to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic about his client’s future in Pittsburgh ahead of a season that has the Pens positioned as one of the few true sellers in the league. While LeBrun stressed that Crosby “for sure only sees himself as a Penguin for life” entering his 21st NHL season, his camp is giving him plenty of room to change his mind if Pittsburgh’s showing this season is as poor as expected.
When asked directly if a Crosby trade before the end of his deal in 2026-27 is possible, Brisson had this to say:
I mean, I’m answering something that … let’s put it this way, it’s always a possibility, you know? It’s been three years they haven’t made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do. I maintain the same position that I do believe that he should be playing playoff hockey every year. In my opinion.
There remains virtually no chance of a surprise Crosby blockbuster before the start of the season. The Penguins haven’t even managed to trade one of their three major trade chips, wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust and defenseman Erik Karlsson, in the six-plus months they’ve been available dating back to last season’s trade deadline. Crosby could have both those forwards as his wingmen to open the season, either to squeeze as much production out of them as possible to boost their trade stock or simply to give this Penguins team a fighting chance at being in the mix for the playoffs.
As Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas told LeBrun, that remains the organization’s goal – whether that’s via resurgent veterans or ahead-of-schedule growth from the young talent they’ve been busy accumulating over the past several months. “Our focus is on returning the Pittsburgh Penguins to perennial contender status as urgently as possible, “Dubas said. “Taking away our focus from that task would only slow down from a job that requires our full attention and nothing less.”
Crosby himself gave a more in-depth quote on where his mindset is at entering the season to Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin:
It’s not something you want to discuss. You’d rather be talking about who we’re getting at the (trade) deadline or, you know, where we’re at as far as, are we one or two or three in the division?. But you know, it’s one of those things. That’s the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that the buzzer goes and you lose a game and that sucks, but there’s so much more than that. It’s the (roster) turnover. It’s the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks — that’s the stuff that’s tough. It makes you appreciate all those years that we were competing and going after the big acquisition every single trade deadline. I don’t think I took it for granted, but I definitely appreciate it that much more now.
Summer Synopsis: Pittsburgh Penguins
With training camps now just a couple of weeks away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Pittsburgh.
The Penguins have been at a crossroads for a little while now but it appears that they’re now set to take a bit of a step back to focus on the future. Dan Muse takes over from Mike Sullivan behind the bench with an eye on player development although Pittsburgh will be entering training camp with the oldest roster in the NHL. That will likely change at some point during the season if the standings dictate a sell-off of players as expected.
Draft
1-11 – F Benjamin Kindel, Calgary (WHL)
1-22 – F Bill Zonnon, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
1-24 – F William Horcoff, Michigan (Big 10)
2-39 – D Peyton Kettles, Swift Current (WHL)
3-73 – D Charlie Trethewey, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
3-84 – G Gabriel D’Aigle, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
3-91 – D Brady Peddle, Waterloo (USHL)
4-105 – F Travis Hayes, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
5-130 – F Ryan Miller, Portland (WHL)
5-148 – D Quinn Beauchesne, Guelph (OHL)
5-154 – F Jordan Charron, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
6-169 – F Carter Sanderson, Muskegon (USHL)
7-201 – F Kale Dach, Sherwood Park (BCHL)
GM Kyle Dubas went into the draft with the most picks and was particularly active on the trade front, including trading down from 12 to 22 and then flipping one of the firsts acquired in that swap to move up to 24. For good measure, he swung two more swaps on the second day of the draft. Interestingly, at a time when a lot of teams mix in some international picks, all 14 of their selections played in North America last season.
Kindel was a surprising selection at 11th overall. Viewed as likely to land more in the late teens or early 20s, he wound up nearly going in the top ten with Pittsburgh believed to have tried to move up to make sure they got him. He plays with the type of pace that Dubas is hoping the Penguins will one day get to as their roster eventually gets younger and while he’s a little undersized, he profiles as a top-six piece for them. Kindel has played down the middle at times and if he’s able to stick at that position in the pros, he’ll become that much more valuable.
Zonnon is another player who went a bit earlier than expected with most of his rankings ranging from the late 20s to the early 40s. Like Kindel, he brings a lot of offensive creativity to the table as Pittsburgh’s early goal in the draft was clearly to increase their skill. Horcoff was another player picked well above his rankings but as a six-foot-five center, that was bound to happen. He wasn’t much of a difference-maker in the USHL but a midseason move to the University of Michigan helped his offensive game and certainly contributed to his rise on rankings lists. He might ultimately pan out as a two-way third liner but those players can be quite impactful overall. None of these three picks are likely to push for a spot with the big club for at least a couple of years.
In terms of their selections on the second day, they went in a different direction. Kettles is a big shutdown defenseman who profiles as someone who might best fit in on the third pairing but whose size and reach should cause some havoc if he develops as planned. Trethewey came into the season as a projected first-round pick, even slotting in with a lottery ranking in some preseason lists. But his season with the US National Team Development Program wasn’t as impactful as hoped. The raw tools are there to be a potential top-four selection but he’s someone who might wind up being a longer-term project.
D’Aigle was an interesting pick as he struggled mightily last year with QMJHL Victoriaville to the tune of a 4.53 GAA. But the Tigres were a weak team and at six-foot-four, he has the size that teams covet between the pipes. Peddle is a physical blueliner who wasn’t able to produce much in the USHL during the regular season although he flashed a little more upside in the postseason. He’ll move to the QMJHL this season and then head to college; both of these players are longer-term picks as well, a theme that can be said for most of the rest of their selections.
Trade Acquisitions
D Connor Clifton (from Buffalo)
D Mathew Dumba (from Dallas)
G Arturs Silovs (from Vancouver)
While Clifton and Dumba are veteran right-shot defensemen (the side teams typically covet), their additions were more about the second-round picks that accompanied them than they were about adding the players. Clifton will add some grit on the third pairing while Dumba may be in tough to simply crack the lineup. Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and likely won’t be part of their plans beyond this season.
That isn’t the case for Silovs. While he struggled considerably in limited action with Vancouver last season, he held his own when a pair of injuries pressed him into their starting role in the playoffs the year before. He was the top goalie at the Worlds in 2023 and the AHL Playoff MVP this spring with Abbotsford and while it was widely expected that the Canucks would have to waive him with their veteran tandem now in place for several years, Dubas decided to jump the queue and swing a trade for him. He’ll go into training camp as the likely backup goalie with a chance to push for a bigger role if he fares well early on. He has a 3.13 GAA and a .880 SV% in his first 19 NHL regular season games.
UFA Signings
D Alexander Alexeyev (one year, $775K)
F Justin Brazeau (two years, $3MM)
F Connor Dewar (one year, $1.1MM after non-tender)^
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (one year, $775K)*
F Bokondji Imama (one year, $775K)*^
D Caleb Jones (two years, $1.8MM)
D Philip Kemp (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Joona Koppanen (one year, $775K)*^
G Filip Lindberg (signed in Finland)
F Anthony Mantha (one year, $2.5MM plus $2MM in bonuses)
F Philip Tomasino (one year, $1.75MM after non-tender)^
D Parker Wotherspoon (two years, $2MM)
*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing
Mantha was easily Pittsburgh’s most intriguing addition this summer. At his best, he has been an impactful top-six forward but consistency has been a challenge. Signed by Calgary last summer in effectively the same type of situation the Penguins are in now, he suffered a torn ACL barely a month into the season, making him eligible for performance incentives which are tied to games played. A good showing could be enough to convince Dubas that he’s worth keeping around a little longer or he could ultimately find himself on the trade block a few months from now. While most of their additions were of the depth variety, Mantha is one who brings a bit of upside if he stays healthy.
Tomasino and Dewar were both non-tendered to avoid salary arbitration but re-signed fairly quickly after the free agent market opened up. Tomasino got off to a tough start in Nashville and was flipped to Pittsburgh in November for a future fourth-rounder. He was able to hold down a regular role (when healthy) with the Penguins but still didn’t show the top-six upside he had at the beginning of his career. He remains RFA-eligible moving forward but will remain a non-tender candidate because of the arbitration rights. Dewar played sparingly with Toronto last season and was moved in a cap-clearing deal at the trade deadline. The change of scenery allowed him to play a bigger role and with seven points in 17 games following the swap, he did well enough to earn another chance. He and Tomasino should be in the mix for bottom-six roles.
Brazeau will also be a part of that mix. He only played his first full NHL campaign last season, splitting time between Boston and Minnesota in largely a fourth-line role. Given the later start to his NHL career, the 27-year-old still could have a bit of upside; otherwise, he’ll likely reprise that fourth-line role with the Penguins. Wotherspoon also played his first full NHL season in 2024-25 at the age of 27. He quietly logged 18 minutes a night for Boston and with the left side of Pittsburgh’s back end not particularly strong at the moment, he could have a chance to play a bigger role. Jones and Alexeyev also have NHL experience and could find themselves in the mix for a spot in training camp.
RFA Re-Signings
None. Pittsburgh non-tendered all of their restricted free agents except for one (who had already signed in the KHL). Dewar and Tomasino were eventually retained but as UFAs as noted earlier.
Departures
F Raivis Ansons (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Isaac Belliveau (trade with Buffalo)
F Emil Bemstrom (signed in Switzerland)
F Kasper Bjorkqvist (signed in Finland)
D Nathan Clurman (signed with Montreal, one year, $775K)*
G Taylor Gauthier (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Matt Grzelcyk (unsigned)
D Mac Hollowell (signed in Russia)
F Jimmy Huntington (signed with San Jose, one year, $775K)*
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (trade with Dallas)
D Filip Kral (signed in Czechia)
F Marc Johnstone (signed with Toronto, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (signed with Vancouver, one year, $775K)
F Mathias Laferriere (signed in Slovakia)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (trade with San Jose)
F Matthew Nieto (unsigned)
D Colton Poolman (unsigned)
F Vasiliy Ponomarev (signed in Russia, Pittsburgh retains his RFA rights)
F Chase Stillman (trade with Vancouver)
D Conor Timmins (trade with Buffalo)
*-denotes two-way contract
Grzelcyk had to settle for a one-year deal last summer and responded about as well as he could. He posted a career high in assists (39) and points (40) while logging over 20 minutes per game for the first time. In essence, it looked as if he had shown that he can still be a legitimate top-four defenseman. And yet, more than two months into free agency and training camps almost upon us, he’s still looking for a contract. Speculatively, his camp aimed high coming off the year he had and the limited options on the open market but his smaller stature likely didn’t help his cause. Now, another one-year deal might be what he has to wind up settling for.
Among the other blueliners who saw some NHL action last season, Timmins was the other part of the cap-clearing move from Toronto at the deadline. He played a somewhat limited role for them down the stretch and will have a similar role with Buffalo. Kolyachonok has been up and down in recent years and was a waiver claim back in February and likely would have been on the outside looking in at a roster spot had he stayed in Pittsburgh. Joseph’s second stint with the Penguins didn’t go particularly well which made his non-tendering for the second straight year a pretty safe decision.
Nedeljkovic had his ups and downs between the pipes, briefly taking over as the starter at times while at others, he struggled considerably to the point of his lowest full-season save percentage, checking in at .894. Considering their goal of getting a little younger, bringing Silovs into Nedeljkovic’s role carries a bit more risk but also more upside.
Among the forwards that moved on, Ponomarev is the most surprising given that he accepted a three-year deal in Russia at a time that the Penguins were hoping to see some prospects take a step forward and push for a roster spot. They’ll have to wait a while for that to happen with him now. Nieto dealt with more injury trouble last season and wasn’t anywhere near as effective as he was when he was last healthy in 2022-23. At this point, he’s a PTO candidate at best. Bemstrom’s stock had dropped in recent years, going from a roster regular with more than 200 games of NHL experience to someone who cleared waivers and spent most of last season in the minors.
Salary Cap Outlook
Even after taking on some pricey contracts for depth defensemen in Clifton and Dumba, the Penguins still have plenty of cap space, a little over $13MM, per PuckPedia. Depending on how the roster is configured, that number could still go up. They have all three of their retention slots remaining and although being a third-party retainer is out of the question following the early institution of the more restrictive rules on salary retention, Pittsburgh is well-positioned to try to utilize some of that flexibility, either through retention or taking on more unwanted contracts.
Key Questions
When Will The Trades Happen? Defenseman Erik Karlsson has been in trade speculation for a while now. So have wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Even centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have seen their names out there although the likelihood of them moving is much less certain (only if they decide they want to move which is far from a given). But as of yet, Dubas hasn’t pulled the trigger on a move, even though it has been a market featuring way more buyers than sellers this summer. Will he look to try to get more leverage closer to the trade deadline or will something materialize earlier in the season?
Can Novak Bounce Back? Among the moves made last season was Dubas acquiring center Thomas Novak from Nashville near the trade deadline. It was an odd move for a selling team to acquire a veteran middleman but it was an intriguing buy-low acquisition. Novak came into last season with back-to-back years of 40-plus points with strong possession numbers. Last season, the latter was still good but his point output dropped and he was injured two games after the trade. If Novak can get back to that 40-point level, he’s someone who could plausibly become part of their plans beyond the end of his contract in 2027 or, alternatively, become an intriguing trade chip in a market that is lacking in center depth.
Will Jarry Provide Starting-Level Goaltending? When Dubas signed Tristan Jarry to a five-year deal after being hired, it was a vote of confidence that Pittsburgh’s goaltending was set for a while. But the first two seasons of that deal have been up-and-down, to say the least, with last year being particularly rocky as he found himself clearing waivers and in the minors at one point. It’s clear that the team views Silovs as a possible piece for the future while Joel Blomqvist is waiting in the wings as well. If Jarry can get back to being a legitimate starter, things can settle down between the pipes for a bit. If not, his future with the team could get murky in a hurry.
Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.