Internal Budget Could Influence Penguins’ Trading

A wave of changes in Pittsburgh Penguins ownership could be having its effects on hockey operations. The team is reportedly shopping around multiple veterans to open up lineup space for emerging prospects. Those motivations could also be the result of an internal, cash-strict budget per TSN’s Darren Dreger on the latest segment of Insider Trading.

The Penguins are set to pay out roughly $87.65MM in total salary this season. They also owe $22.4MM in signing bonuses – with $14.74MM of that going to Sidney Crosby ($6.53MM), Erik Karlsson ($5.22MM), and Evgeni Malkin ($3MM). With more than $100MM dedicated to the 2026-27 season, Pittsburgh’s new ownership – now without Mario Lemieux – could be taking a look at the books.

Pittsburgh was already set to enter a period of change. Their roster is still built around Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang – icons of the Penguins’ trio of Stanley Cup wins between 2009 and 2017, who are now approaching their 40s. Meanwhile, rising performances from the likes of Benjamin Kindel, Sergei Murashov, and Egor Chinakhov have brought the freshest spark that Pittsburgh has seen in years.

Since he was hired in 2023, the task in front of general manager Kyle Dubas has been to build the ship that will sail after Crosby, Malkin, and Letang retires. Three years later, it seems the time to turn things over has arrived. Their prospects are vying for chances, with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ranked third in goals-per-game (4.17) in the AHL so far. Their scoring success has been driven by players on the NHL bubble – forwards Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes, Mikhail Ilyin, Bill Zonnon, and defender Jake Livanavage.

After a 3-6-1 start to the 2026-27 season, it’d be no surprise to see the Penguins test their promising prospects early. They’ll need to open lineup space to do that – and balancing internal budgets could be a part of the decision for who to shop. Winger Andrei Kuzmenko carries the heftiest salary relative to his lineup role – set to make $5MM this season but currently boasting just one point and the fourth-lowest average ice time in the lineup.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson is Pittsburgh’s second-highest-paid player – after Crosby – with a $6.52MM salary. More than that, the future Hall-of-Famer continues to perform at a high level, leading Pittsburgh with 11 points in 10 games. He could be the best bet to earn a rich reward on the trade market, though moving him wouldn’t open room for Pittsburgh’s forward prospects.

Forwards Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Justin Brazeau could also catch the eyes of teams looking for varying levels of scoring upside. Rakell and Rust are set to make $3.6MM in salary, while Brazeau will earn $1.5MM.

No matter how the trades fall, it seems a new chapter is quickly approaching the Penguins franchise. They will move forward under the guidance of Dubas and Director of Player Personnel Wes Clark. That duo will continue to guide Pittsburgh through strong draft classes in 2027 and 2028, where the club already holds a combined 15 draft picks. How those selections blend with players finding their roots – like Kindel, Murashov, and Ville Koivunen – could go far in determining Pittsburgh’s success through the end of the 2020s.