The Pittsburgh Penguins still have room under the NHL salary cap heading into 2024-25, but what does their situation look like for 2025-26?
The NHL has announced that the league's salary cap will be $92 million in 2025-26, $4 million higher than the upcoming season's $88 million.
In Pittsburgh, fans still wait for long-time captain Sidney Crosby to sign an extension and finish his career with the Penguins. However, he has yet to commit pen to paper, leaving many to wonder what the holdup is.
According to CapWages, the Penguins currently have $58,171,429 million committed to contracts in 2025-26, which means money can't be the reason for the lack of an extension.
No one knows what Crosby is feeling, especially regarding Pittsburgh's competitiveness moving forward. Even though he's won three Stanley Cup titles, winning another one is always the goal.
Despite the moves general manager Kyle Dubas has orchestrated this summer, he still hasn't got a commitment from Crosby, which means it's not too early to look ahead and see who could still be a Penguins sweater next summer if their captain departs.
Forwards - $28,912,429 (49.7%)
Dubas will still have Evgeni Malkin ($6.1 million), Bryan Rust ($5.1 million), and Rickard Rakell ($5 million) under contract in 2025-26. They will make a combined $16,225,000, the only three forwards scheduled to make over $5 million annually.
Michael Bunting ($4.5 million), Kevin Hayes ($3.5 million), Noel Acciari ($2.0 million), Blake Lizotte ($1.8 million), and Valtteri Puustinen ($775,000) are among the players entering the final year of their current deals.
Crosby ($8.7 million), Cody Glass (RFA $2.5 million), Lars Eller ($2.4 million), Anthony Beauvillier ($1.2 million), Drew O'Connor ($925,000), Jesse Puljujarvi ($800,000), and Emil Bemstrom ($775,000) will be among their free-agent group.
Defense - $21,375,000 (36.7%)
Heading into 2024-25, the Penguins have seven defensemen under contract, and all but three are slated to return the following season.
Erik Karlsson ($10 million) will still have two years left on his deal, while Kris Letang ($6.1 million) will have three. They are joined by Ryan Graves ($4.5 million), who could still be with the team in four seasons after his long-term extension in July 2023.
The only other defender still on the books is recently acquired Sebastian Aho, who makes just $775,000.
Marcus Pettersson ($4 million) is the biggest pending free agent on the back end, followed by Matt Grzelcyk ($2.7 million) and RFA John Ludvig ($775,000).
Goaltenders - $7,875,000 (13.5%)
Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedejlkovic will be the Penguins' goalie tandem until at least the end of the 2025-26 season. Jarry is signed through the 2027-28 season, and Nedejlkovic recently signed a two-year extension that expires after next year.
They make a combined $7,875,000, with Jarry's salary making up most of the goalie costs, with an annual salary of $5,375,000. His partner is now on the books for $2.5 million.
Barring a significant shakeup, trade, or promotion from the minors, fans should expect to see this duo for at least another 164 games.
Dead Cap Space - $916,667
After the 2024-25 season, Matt Nieto's long-term injured reserve salary ($900,000) will be wiped off the books, along with the retained salaries of Jeff Petry ($1,562,500) and Reilly Smith ($1,250,000).
The only "dead" salary that the Penguins will still be responsible for in 2025-26 is Jack Johnson's buyout, which still counts $916,667 towards the cap.
Math Magician
Dubas has brought in some of his former co-workers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, they must find a way to remain competitive while keeping the books balanced.
Outside of a significant shakeup or Crosby's loss, the Penguins will have roughly $33,828,571 to make moves and fill out the roster, which could include Brayden Yegar, Owen Pickering, and Sergei Murashov at that time.