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After Malkin, Preliminary Penguins Lineup & Battles Next Season
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- After Malkin, Preliminary Penguins Lineup & Battles Next Season
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Evgeni Malkin will have a changing role as the Pittsburgh Penguins also continue to evolve next season. The rebuild is continuing despite the retention of five players in their mid to late 30s, and Malkin who will be 40.
Tuesday, the Penguins inked Malkin to an incentive laden deal with a base salary cap hit of $5.5 million that could be worth up to $9 million but is more realistically worth between $6 million and $7.5 pending the Penguins' playoff success.
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Of course, despite their long Stanley Cup odds , if the Penguins were to take Lord Stanley's chalice down to the river and party all summer, and Malkin were to avoid the NHL injury list for least 63 of the 84 regular season games, that's when Malkin would hit full boat on his new deal.
It wasn't a paltry payday for Malkin, and it allows general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Dan Muse to look ahead to the potential 2026-27 Penguins lineup. Indeed. Despite another year for the core three, the Penguins are also rebuilding, not necessarily around them but in tandem with them.
Enter the prospects.
Dubas acknowledges that not all of the Penguins' prospects will land and they will have to accept some won't make it. Further, some are trade bait this offseason in Dubas's pursuit of an impact player in his mid to later 20s. If Dubas were any more specific, it would have been tampering, and if he were any less cryptic, the dog whistle he sent to a dozen players across the league would have been lost.
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Dubas wants elite players, as well as players who could be so much more, who want out of their current situation to look at the Penguins. And if they must, force the trade by exercising whatever rights they have.
It was a bold gambit, and one that might take all summer to fulfill. So, for now, the projected Penguins lineup is merely a continuation of this season spiced with prospects currently on what could be a magical playoff run.
There are a few lingering questions, such as unrestricted free agent Ryan Shea . Perhaps with Malkin's deal in the rearview mirror, Dubas will turn his attention to Shea, or perhaps the defenseman who had a career breakout will get his moment in the sun as a free agent on July 1.
There are also two RFAs. Russian sniper Egor Chinakhov is one of two regulars due a new contract. Given Chinakhov's explosion after the Penguins rescued, er, acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets, a new contract is almost assured but not an urgent matter. Chinakhov posted 18 goals and 36 points in 41 games to impress his new hosts, and the Penguins have more than enough salary cap space to match any offer the RFA might receive.
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Goalie Arturs Silovs is also an RFA, and is expected to re-sign. Unless he plays hardball with the organization, Silovs will be most likely return next season.
Preliminary Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin/**Prospect
Elmer Soderblom-Ben Kindel-**Justin Brazeau/Malkin/Prospect
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-**
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves/**Prospect-Harrison Brunicke/Jack St. Ivany
Goalie: Arturs Silovs/Sergei Murashov
By the math, the Penguins have 11 NHL forwards under contract for next season, which doesn't leave much room for the prospects, or free agents. Dubas will have to clear a spot or three.
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**There are five Penguins forward prospects who will fight for their NHL careers next fall: Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Avery Hayes, and Tristan Broz. 2025 first-round pick Bill Zonnon has shown an ability to find the net during his brief sting in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the AHL playoffs.
**Zonnon has four points in five games, including three goals. He's probably a moment or two away from the NHL, but so was Ben Kindel. Zonnon's raw physical talents and hockey smarts will give him a fighting shot.
**In addition to the prospects, Filip Hallander figures to return next season. He earned consistent fourth-line duty before a blood clot ended his season. He was reliable but unspectacular during his NHL time.
**According to Dubas, Malkin will have an "evolving role" based on the state of the Penguins. That top six spot could be occasionally filled by both McGroarty and Koivunen.
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**Will the Penguins give Brazeau another chance or will he be their failsafe, waiting in the wings if a prospect or free agent doesn't claim the middle-six spot?
**It's hard to find a spot for Broz. The 23-year-old prospect is a center but plays like a talented, playmaking winger. He wins at every level, is what former coach Mike Sullivan would call a "whiskey drinker," and has earned his chance. But an opening in Pittsburgh will hinge on Dubas clearing a spot, or perhaps Broz switching back to wing, where he played for most of his collegiate career.
Broz is quick, has soft hands to finish chances, and is defensively responsible. He's a slick setup man, but is still adding offensive layers as a center.
**McGroarty, 22, plays a complete game and is a primary penalty killer in WBS. Instead of Avery Hayes, that fourth-line spot could be for McGroarty until his play asserts he should be higher in the lineup.
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**Dubas's assessment of Koivunen's growth this season was quite positive. Dubas pushed back on a question that Koivunen, 22, wasn't strong enough–citing his work in the weight room throughout the season and his playmaking ability.
"And so he went down to the minors, found himself, and came back up. I thought in the latter part of the year, both here and in the American League, we felt, objectively, his speed had improved, his power had improved, his strength had improved, and he had improved," Dubas said. "He was creating more. And then it just got into one of those funks where then it wasn't falling for him … I thought he got a lot better at (with strength) as it went on."
The Penguins are not holding his lack of production (2-5-7) in 37 NHL games against him and he has the talent to be a middle-six NHL winger. He also has the temperament to stir the pot and play a physical game.
Koivunen might have the biggest potential of the bunch, and the one prospect who could displace Malkin with consistency.
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**We believe Muse holds a higher opinion of Novak's game than we might. As tempting as it might be to pencil Broz into the third-line spot, that would require moving Novak to the wing.
Preliminary Prediction
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Chinakhov-Novak-Koivunen/Malkin
McGroarty-Kindel-Koivunen/Malkin
Dewar-Lizotte-Soderblom
…But it's all still preliminary, and it's a long time until next September.
The post After Malkin, Preliminary Penguins Lineup & Battles Next Season appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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