Speculation persists over Evgeni Malkin's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Meanwhile, one pundit suggests the Boston Bruins check into the availability of Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
Despite exceeding expectations by reaching the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round exit generated speculation about whether changes will be coming to their roster this summer.
Most of the conjecture concerns Evgeni Malkin.
The 39-year-old center is slated to become a UFA on July 1. He's indicated his desire to re-sign with the Penguins, but GM Kyle Dubas seems reluctant to bring him back.
Malkin is no longer the dominant superstar who helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cups. However, his bounce-back performance in 2025-26 and his solid effort in their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers suggest he has enough left to be a contributor.
Josh Yohe of The Athletic cited sources within the Malkin camp saying contract talks with Dubas haven't started yet. They intend to reach out to the Penguins GM soon to get a date for in-person discussions. Yohe also cited a source claiming Malkin isn't seeking a raise from his current $6.1 million average annual value.
Opinion over Malkin remains divided among Pittsburgh pundits.
Some, like Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, believe the Penguins should cut ties with aging stars like Malkin and look to the future. Others, such as Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, have no problem with the veteran center returning for another season or two, even if it hinders Dubas' efforts to retool the roster for another year.
Meanwhile, Boston Bruins fans are curious about what's in store for their club this summer.
Like the Penguins, the Bruins were expected to miss the post-season but defied the odds by qualifying for the playoffs, only to be eliminated from the opening round.
Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic believes the Bruins must improve their defense corps, which lacked sufficient depth among its bottom six to contain the Buffalo Sabres' offense during their first-round series.
Shinzawa also had some suggestions for Bruins GM Don Sweeney to improve the roster.
He thinks Sweeney should check with the Ottawa Senators about Brady Tkachuk's availability.
However, that's a waste of time considering Tkachuk and Senators GM Steve Staios recently shot down any trade speculation about the 26-year-old power forward.
A more realistic suggestion was to keep an eye on New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec, whose RFA status this summer made him the subject of trade rumors this season.
Shinzawa also suggested the Bruins attempt to sign Darren Raddysh if the Tampa Bay Lightning blueliner hits the open market on July 1.
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