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'They'll Be in Play': Penguins Insider Believes Pittsburgh Will Add Key Star Player in the Near Future
The Penguins may not be a contender in 2025/26, but beyond that, top insider Josh Yohe believes Pittsburgh could be a major buyer in free agency.
This summer, the Pittsburgh Penguins were expected to be sellers, and while they've not traded any of their big names yet, the belief around the league is that one or maybe two of Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust will be on the move.
However, things could change very quickly, as they still have a veteran core led by the league's best captain, and with that, the expectation is that GM Kyle Dubas could look to speed through a rebuild.
That question was raised to Penguins Insider Josh Yohe recently, and unsurprisingly, he notes that with almost $50 million in cap space next summer and a departing Evgeni Malkin, this team could be a major factor in free agency, potentially chasing more than one big star.
You've said many times that next summer is when Dubas intends to get aggressive in FA, but what do you think that actually looks like? Would he actually go after some of the big names that could possibly be out there?
Well, that depends which names you're talking about. No, I don't think Connor McDavid is coming to town. Sorry in advance.
But if a few of the young players are really starting to show potential, and if the Penguins still have around $50 million in cap space, yeah, I do think they'll be in play for some fairly big names at that point.
Well, that depends which names you're talking about. No, I don't think Connor McDavid is coming to town. Sorry in advance.
But if a few of the young players are really starting to show potential, and if the Penguins still have around $50 million in cap space, yeah, I do think they'll be in play for some fairly big names at that point.
Yohe does shut down the idea that Pittsburgh could be a player for Connor McDavid, as he's likely to be re-signing with the Oilers before free agency, but with names like Artemi Panarin, Cale Makar, Kirill Kaprizov and Jack Eichel among others all available, it's a great time to have money to spend.
On top of that, if the team struggle in 2025/26, they could have a chance at the top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, meaning that this team could look very different moving forward, so while Penguins fans shouldn't get their hopes too high, we may be looking at short-term pain for some huge long-term gains.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 9 | 105 ANSWERS 'They'll Be in Play': Penguins Insider Believes Pittsburgh Will Add Key Star Player in the Near Future Will the Penguins be big buyers in the loaded free agency class of 2026? | ||
| Yes | 81 | 77.1 % |
| No | 24 | 22.9 % |
| List of polls | ||