The Pittsburgh Penguins got Drew O'Connor extended, but what comes next?

Before needing a third-party arbiter, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Drew O’Connor came to an agreement on a new contract for two years at $925,000 annually.

A clean piece of business by the Penguins as now they can take massive steps forward in preparing for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

With O’Connor’s contract out of the way, what’s next for the organization?

As a lot front office officials and NHL insiders look forward to an August of vacations and relaxation, Kyle Dubas and the Penguins might be hard at work for the next few days or weeks.

O’Connor’s new contract brought with it a second buyout window that might turn into a wise decision to utilize.

Dubas has had his sights set on Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson for well over a month now, and buying out a certain contract might provide the salary cap space necessary to pull of the deal.

Mikael Granlund sit on the Penguins’ books with a cap hit of $5 million and two years remaining on his contract.

A buyout of Granlund’s deal would save the Penguins over $4 million in the first year, dropping his cap hit to $833,333 in the first year.

The buyout would last four years and run the Penguins only $1,833,333 against the cap for another three years.

The immediate savings are too much to pass up for a player who didn’t fit in the Penguins’ system.

This is running on the assumption no other team in the NHL, especially Karlsson’s San Jose Sharks are unwilling to take on Granlund.

Beyond coming to a final decision with Granlund and possibly Karlsson, the Penguins are nearing the end of their offseason to-do list.

Dubas might start looking for a general manager soon, but that can wait as Dubas has all the tools to be a great GM.

Jake Guentzel is entering the final year of his contract, but that’s a bridge that can be crossed at any time during the season.

Soon enough, we’ll all be making roster predictions for the Penguins and where they stack up with the rest of the NHL.

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