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Penguins Face a Cap Windfall in 2026 - But How Should Dubas Spend It?
The Pittsburgh Penguins may not be expected to come close to making the playoffs this year, but they have several million dollars worth of salary cap space - how should GM Kyle Dubas utilize it?
It will be a long shot by most realistic projections for the Pittsburgh Penguins to come anywhere close to a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, but the good news is that they have lots of salary cap space to work with.
Breaking down Pittsburgh's $53 million in projected cap space
As noted by Penguins analyst Josh Yohe of The Athletic, the Penguins will have over $50 million worth of cap space before long - and that's before trading one or both of Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust.
The 2025-26 season was always going to be the clunker for Dubas and the Penguins. Kevin Hayes, Noel Acciari and Danton Heinen remain on the books for one more season. That's almost $8 million in cap space on three players no one else wants, but in less than a year, they're off the books. Other financial issues remain - see Graves, Ryan; or Jarry, Tristan; or Letang, Kris - but the fact remains that the Penguins will have an enormous amount of money to spend starting next summer.
Which veterans could still be moved before the money opens up
Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has been trying for weeks now to find a trade partner for both Rakell and Rust along with veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson, but has been unsuccessful.
Karlsson's AAV (average annual value) of $11.5 million understandably is keeping potentially interested teams at bay, and even though the Penguins would have to eat some of that number in a trade, it would still provide more financial relief.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 3 | 21 ANSWERS Penguins Face a Cap Windfall in 2026 - But How Should Dubas Spend It? Is Kyle Dubas the right man for the job of Penguins GM? | ||
| Yes | 11 | 52.4 % |
| No | 10 | 47.6 % |
| List of polls | ||