Kyle Dubas is pragmatic when it comes to evaluating the recently completed 2025-26 campaign for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Getting to the playoffs was good.
Getting knocked out in the first round was not good.
The overall body of work was nice. But far from satisfactory.
“There are two ways of putting where we are and where we are going,” the Penguins’ president of hockey operations said Tuesday in Cranberry during his season-ending news conference. “I think the season was successful in some respects, and we have areas to grow in other respects.
“All told in the year, I thought we were a good team, and at times we flirted with becoming very good, but ultimately, we are still well short of where we aspire to be, which is a contender. That falls on me, and the work to push to get us there will continue.
“I don’t kid myself with that, it’s a big task. We took steps this year, but we have a long way to go to return to being a contender.”
The biggest component of Dubas’ offseason duties of crafting next season’s roster is franchise pillar Evgeni Malkin.
The veteran forward — who turns 40 on July 31 — is a pending unrestricted free agent and has stated in plain terms he wishes to remain with the only team that has employed him in his 20 years as an NHLer.
Dating to the 2025 offseason, Dubas has largely kicked the can down the road on potentially signing Malkin to a contract extension over the past year.
On Tuesday, he indicated he has had substantive talks with Malkin and his representation about the matter since the Penguins’ season came to a conclusion April 29 and seemed optimistic over the potential of formally re-signing one of the most consequential players in franchise history.
“We’ve had (discussions),” Dubas said. “Obviously, we had a great exit interview with Evgeni directly. Then, subsequently, we’ve had continued discussions with he and his representative, J.P. Barry. The season that he’s had, where we’re at, where we’re going, I don’t look at our younger players and think that they’ve done enough to have a view that he’s blocking anybody out in that regard.
“We would love to have him back. We just continue to work with J.P. on it. That’s as clear as I can be.”
Still, potentially re-signing Malkin isn’t without some cause for concern, as he will be 40. And while he was productive in 2025-26 — posting 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists) in 56 games — he labored throughout the campaign with various ailments, including a left shoulder injury that lingered throughout the second half of the season.
In 56 games this season, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists). (AP)
Dubas expressed few concerns on that front when evaluating Malkin.
“He’s a special player,” Dubas said. “I thought the big thing this year for him was he started off the year excellent, had a newfound energy, got hurt in December and he came back from that in a great spot.
“(Malkin) is built differently, and I thought the different times off during the year really served him well. I think we were fortunate in that regard and I don’t think you ever feel that during the year at the time. You think, ‘Jeez, he’s out. That stinks.’ But every time he came back from being out, he played his best hockey, we felt.
“That’s one thing to it. The other part is he shifted away from center after the injury in December onto the wing. I thought he and (linemates) Tommy (Novak) and Egor Chinakhov there especially during that stretch, right away had great chemistry. I think it helped reduce some of the load on him, as well.
“I think all of those factors play into it, but in the end, he’s one of the great players of all time and as everyone here knows, is very proud. All of those things played into him having the season that he did.”
Maintaining the union of the “Big Three” — which includes forward Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang — is something Dubas acknowledges might not be feasible.
“We always have to do what’s best for the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Dubas said. “Even if that’s unpopular or makes people unhappy, that’s the way that we have to operate. So, we’ll continue to field the team in the formation that we feel gives us the best chance to move ahead.
“If there are players that begin to pass by (them), regardless of who they are and how long they’ve been here, it’s incumbent upon me to make those decisions and do what’s best for the Penguins in the long run.
Dubas addressed a number of subjects Tuesday:
Goaltenders Sergei Murashov (left) and Joel Blomqvist are currently assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. (KDP Studio) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov (left) and Joel Blomqvist. (KDP Studio)
• The Penguins have plenty of goaltending depth, which is a great problem to have. But it is a problem. Especially from the standpoint that veteran Stuart Skinner is a pending unrestricted free agent July 1, while rookie Arturs Silovs, as well as prospects Joel Blomqvist and Taylor Gauthier, are pending restricted free agents.
Additionally, prospect Sergei Murashov, who remains under contract, has taken over as the top goaltender with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in the ongoing Calder Cup playoffs.
Dubas suggested one of the incumbents — Skinner or Silovs — will remain while one of the prospects will form a tandem on the NHL roster next season.
“I was really happy with the way that (Silovs) played,” Dubas said. “With he and (Skinner) both being free agents — one unrestricted, one restricted — we’ll continue to watch in the playoffs and see how Sergei plays. Joel has been in the organization for a long time. Obviously, Sergei has run with the ball here in the playoffs. So, we’ll see how that continues to progress and use that as a measurement.
“But my full expectation is that two of them, Sergei and Joel, will be competing for a roster spot here this year. We’ll make the decision on the other one. But I think they both have earned, over years now, the chance to compete for that.
“We’ll probably supplement it either by bringing back Taylor Gauthier or by — and if that doesn’t work out — looking for more of a veteran guy. But we have a lot of confidence in Taylor and think he’s earned that as well. It’s been some excellent progression there.”
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby has one year remaining on a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $8.7 million. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
• Crosby and defenseman Erik Karlsson each have one year remaining on their current contracts and are eligible to sign contract extensions July 1. Neither is an immediate matter on Dubas’ mind.
“It’s not been a front-burner topic for us,” Dubas said. “I think with both of them, maybe something later in the summer as we get back in the fall. Sid is in a different category. I think most players start to get into their late 30s, and it tends to become a year-to-year thing. I don’t know if that’s how each of them will handle it. That’s just how most players handle it. We’ll discuss that as we get through the summer and into the fall, for sure. In (Karlsson’s) case, obviously, (teammates) voted him Team MVP. We’re very happy with him.”
• Forward Anthony Mantha, who led the team in goals with 33 last season, is a pending unrestricted free agent. The 31-year-old has said — dating to October — that he would like to sign a multi-year contract regardless of the team.
“I talked directly to Anthony in his exit interview,” Dubas said. “Haven’t had any discussion with his agent. He was pretty clear with me what his intentions are. That’s private and personal for him. That’s not on me to say that here publicly. But we’ll see how all the other things materialize and we can always circle back.”
• According to Puckpedia, the Penguins have an ample $42.7 million in salary cap space to operate with this offseason.
But don’t expect Dubas to spend it just to spend it, especially given the lean offerings on the projected free-agent market.
“There’s a lot of teams with a lot of cap space,” Dubas said. “Everyone might be happy about it for July and August, but once September, October, November, and certainly, next October, November, December roll around, you might be really unhappy with what you’ve done. We’re going to obviously investigate everybody that becomes available, whether they’re a fit for us in the long-term or whether, when by the time our younger players are in their prime, where they’re going to be at, whether that’s going to be a long-term fit for us.
“It becomes a bit of a false flag when you say, you know, the team has, we have this much in cap space and we’re going to use it, we’re going to become better by the, whatever we have, $40 million in space. But part of it is getting the timing right of when we utilize it and when we use that space. So, is that going to be this summer? Is that going to be next year during the year? What I don’t want to do is I don’t want to burn the space long-term and look back in a year or two or three and say, ‘Geez, now we’re costing ourselves with these deals that we overpaid for in the summer of 2026 because we had it.’”
In 78 games this season, Penguins forward Connor Dewar scored 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists). (AP)
• Two pending free agents Dubas and company re-signed were defenseman Ilya Solovyov and forward Connor Dewar. Both players agreed to new contracts on Thursday.
Solovyov signed a one-year deal worth $850,000.
“We saw with (Solovyov) a lot of what we don’t have,” Dubas said. “The size is great, he can shoot. When he got into the playoffs, didn’t get a whole lot of ice. But throughout the year, we just felt he could make and complete stops defensively. Especially down low in the defensive zone. Defending the rush and different elements like that, we need to have him improve upon. He told me in his exit interview that he’s going to be here the whole summer, basically, training, which is great. I just think his reads, his stick detail, and then his ability to physically go and end plays, it’s certainly worthy of taking that chance and giving him (the deal), especially if he’s committed to the work. That was a fairly easy one.”
And Dewar agreed to a two-year pact with a cap hit of $2.25 million.
“Connor Dewar, I put him in the (linemate) Blake Lizotte sort of category,” Dubas said. “They just represent what we want to be about, especially at those spots in the lineup (on the fourth line). He’s versatile. No matter what gets thrown at him, he takes it, runs with it. He’s zero maintenance for anybody, especially for me or for the coaching staff, like Blake. And it’s great to be low maintenance, but it’s especially great when you have low maintenance players that have a great impact on the team.
“He could’ve gone to the market. … But he wanted to be here. Different players represent the Penguins in different ways, but in his role and everything he’s about, he represents us perfectly. We were excited to bring him back, and look forward to having him here for another two years, at least.”
