The Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to veer off course, and that’s not a bad thing.
With about $10 million in salary cap space, the Penguins also have a chance to re-fortify their skill in the top six, perhaps finding competent filler for the hole left by the Jake Guentzel trade. Or, Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas could take an entirely different approach, reshaping the Penguins’ identity.
Dubas could double down on his acquisition of Michael Bunting in the Guentzel trade, adding more grit and jam in the lineup.
He could, but here’s the problem: Very limited options in all directions. There are only a few physical players set to hit the free-agent market. It’s easy to say, “Be more physical. Get tougher.” However, such a tact might very well prove impossible.
For example, Warren Foegele will be due a new contract after the Edmonton Oilers’ Stanley Cup Final run, but he never before scored more than 30 points in his five previous seasons.
Yet if the Penguins go for scoring, perhaps a top-line left wing to replace the departed Guentzel, there are only NINE wingers–right or left–who scored at least 19 goals last season. There are few scorers and even fewer bangers available; otherwise, it is slim pickings, and several more on the shortlists are prime candidates to be well-paid.
That will be a separate list and that’s why the July 1 free agent frenzy is the cause of so many GMs’ mistakes.
July 1 is just 23 days away, but with the Stanely Cup Final and NHL Draft still in the way, it might seem like a summer away, but the great reveal is barreling down on the Penguins. Given the Dubas regime’s lockdown secrecy and lack of public conversation, even many industry insiders are left to ponder where the Penguins will go next.
One player not listed below is former Penguins winger Jason Zucker, whom we’ve written about and discussed on the Penguins Live Chats a few times. He remains a player to watch as both a good fit and an affordable fit.
3 Penguins Free Agent Potential to Watch
Jonathan Drouin
If there is a player on the market who could come close to filling Guentzel’s shoes, it might be Drouin. However, the slick playmaking winger has not yet fully maximized his talent over his 10-year career. After overcoming personal issues, he had a solid season with the Colorado Avalanche and friend Nathan MacKinnon, scoring 18 goals and setting career highs with 37 assists and 56 points.
Drouin, 29, is projected to sign a new deal in the $5 million neighborhood with a four-year term.
He would be the right kind of high hockey IQ playmaker to take the Penguins’ top-line LW slot beside Sidney Crosby. Since Drouin is tight with Nathan MacKinnon, there’s a good chance he will re-sign in Colorado. Agent Allan Walsh met with Colorado GM Steve MacFarland this week to work toward a new deal.
As of Friday, there’s nothing on paper.
His defensive work also earned recognition. Drouin would represent a continuation of the Penguins’ skill and talent, but at a bargain, leaving more money for other needs.
Dakota Joshua
The one banger who could genuinely play third-line minutes and not cost well more than he’s worth.
He could change the face of the Penguins’ middle six. His physicality in the Vancouver Canucks’ Round One battle against Edmonton helped Vancouver push the series to seven games. His crunching forechecks had Edmonton defensem*n looking over their shoulders.
Joshua, 28, has been a late bloomer and is not a top-six winger, but he could provide a pounding element with some offense that has been lacking for a long, long time.
There are a couple of Penguins connections to vouch for Vancouver’s freight train forward. He had a breakout season under Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet, a former Penguins assistant, scoring 18 goals with 32 points. And Joshua’s brother, Jagger Joshua, is on a minor-league contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The (un)skinny on Joshua is he’s 6-foot-3, 209 pounds, and whose forecheck can pulverize defensem*n. 2023-34 was Joshua’s second full-time NHL season. After a couple of seasons up and down with the St. Louis Blues, he spent the last two seasons as a regular in the Vancouver lineup.
Last season was mostly about physicality. Joshua had 23 points with a minus-16 rating but 222 hits. This season, he buttressed the 18 goals with 245 hits.
AFP Analytics projects him to sign a four-year contract worth $3.2 million per year.
Vladimir Tarasenko
He’s not a LW, but Penguins winger Rickard Rakell could be. With a quick flip from the left to the right, the Penguins would have space for the 32-year-old Russian winger, who notched 55 points with 23 goals in 76 games split between the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers.
Tarasenko is projected in the $4 million range, which makes him affordable. His experience makes him trustworthy, as he’s been a valued contributor on the New York Rangers and now Florida Panthers playoff runs. He knows how to play both ends of the ice and can finish chances.
Perhaps the Penguins have a center who’d like a Russian winger?
