NHL Free Agency: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Potential Wish List

Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas is a very busy man these days. Dubas was Team Canada’s GM in the IIHF World Championship tournament in Europe, which lasted nearly the entire month of May. 

He’s also conducting interviews for the Penguins’ vacant head coaching position, preparing for the 2025 NHL Draft, and right around the corner is NHL Free Agency. 

Per PuckPedia, the Penguins are slotted to have roughly $24.5 million in cap space to spend on Tuesday, July 1st, the official start of the NHL free agency period. With 18 players under contract, and with the potential trades of defenseman Erik Karlsson and a few others, expect the Penguins to be busy, but not flashy. 

Why, you may ask?

The most obvious answer is that the Penguins are in full-blown rebuild mode. The goal is to get younger and faster, similar to the Washington Capitals and the way they were able to retool this season. And if Dubas plays his cards correctly, the team is probably a year away from reaching the playoffs again. 

Secondly, teams hold only 23 roster spots, and with the Penguins’ current roster of 18 signed players for next season, unless trades are made, there literally are only a handful of spots for Dubas to fill. 

Despite tempting free agents such as Mitch Marner and John Tavares being available, there’s no reason to overspend and sign long-term deals for players the Pens are essentially reaching for, especially if 2026 is the true target to make a run at the playoffs.

That said, here are the areas Pens fans can anticipate Dubas addressing: 

Left-side Defense

This is the most important position that needs to be addressed. For now, the Penguins have Karlsson and Kris Letang on the right side, but with Marcus Pettersson traded, Matt Grzelcyk a free agent, and Ryan Graves not living up to his contract, the left side leaves a lot to be desired. 

If the Pens fail to resign Grzelcyk, perhaps they turn to free agent targets like Ryan Lindgren, Parker Witherspoon, Oliver Kylington and frequent Pens depth piece, P.O. Joseph. 

Fourth Line

This seems to be an issue every season for Pittsburgh. The Penguins did acquire Tommy Novak at the trade deadline this past season, so he should slot in as third-line center, which does free up Kevin Hayes to be a true fourth-line center, but Hayes could be moved over the summer. Noel Acciari is in the last year of his contract and frankly has been disappointing. The former 20-goal scorer is not a needle mover, and in two seasons with Pittsburgh, he has nine goals in 134 games played.  

The Pens might turn to a few options here, including energy guy Brandon Tanev, or look to players like Bokondji Imama to fill the void. There is an outside chance that they acquire Anthony Mantha, but this should be a place the team addresses over the first few days of the free agent frenzy.

Physicality

Plain and simple, the organization needs to get tougher. Right now, the Florida Panthers are the gold standard in the league for this type of play. They can score, are physical at the point of attack and in their zone, and their style wears teams down throughout a playoff series.

The Pens can address this with defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who seems to fill a few voids for the squad. But keep in mind the Pens play a finesse game, so whatever sandpaper they add will need to be able to skate and move the puck. 

Goaltending

There’s no question that the Penguins need better play from the goaltending position, but with the free agent market being as weak as it is, expect Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic to be the Penguins’ tandem for the 2025-26 season. 

Promising prospect Joel Blomqvist would likely step in if either Jarry or Nedeljkovic gets traded. Given Jarry’s level of play down the stretch, there could be a team willing to take a chance and trade for the former all-star, but that might be wishful thinking with his current contract and cap hit. The good news is that 21-year-old Sergei Murashov continues to make a name for himself, and Pens fans could see him in Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.

The gratuitous “never going to happen, but what if” category 

If Dubas wants to jumpstart the rebuild, Mitch Marner could be the guy, assuming Toronto doesn’t resign him to a max deal. Dubas is familiar with Marner from his days in Toronto, but would Marner take a lesser deal just to join his former GM? Doubtful. Marner is probably going to command upwards of $12-13 million per year, maybe even $14 million.

Free agent center John Tavares is 34 years old but is still nearly a point-per-game player, contributing almost 40 goals this past season, and would be a good replacement for Evgeni Malkin, who’s in the last year of his contract. The deal would have to be for the right money and length for the Penguins. But Tavares has already stated publicly he’d take less money to stay in Toronto, so all arrows are pointing in that direction. 

As much as it pains Pens fans to read this, despite being 37 years old, Brad Marchand brings a level of leadership, scoring, and feistiness that the Penguins need. He’s just a pest, and depending on who the new head coach is, he could fit the new system very well. That said, rumors abound about his return to Boston, and if things continue to go well in Florida, perhaps he stays there.