TSN’s Darren Dreger lit a fuse late last week when he reported the Pittsburgh Penguins were not only exploring veteran trades, but doing so with “(Dubas) is working with a cash-strict budget, not just the NHL’s salary cap.”
That line sent plenty of people reaching for the panic button. But the bigger picture is more complicated than a simple “can’t spend” story.
The Penguins have long operated with financial freedom in the salary cap era, even if the franchise’s broader money history has been rocky. Under Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, and then through Fenway Sports Group ownership, hockey operations generally had the resources they wanted. That included a recent stretch in which Kyle Dubas willingly took on unwanted money in exchange for draft picks.
In 2024, Dubas absorbed Kevin Hayes’s $3.5 million cap hit for two seasons and got back a second-round pick that eventually became a second- and third-rounder. A year later, he picked up Matt Dumba from the Dallas Stars and landed another second-round pick. Dumba carried a $3.75 million cap hit, leaving the Penguins with more than $7 million in dead money on the books last season.
The ownership picture changed when FSG sold to the Hoffmanns, a deal that became official last June after nearly a year to close. That purchase reportedly came in around $1.7 billion, and it naturally sparked questions about how much spending power would really remain.
Even so, there are reasons to be cautious before treating budget concerns as a crisis. Dubas spent the summer chasing Jason Robertson, who would have cost roughly $15 million per year. He also gave Ville Koivunen a $4 million average annual value through 2034, signed Andrei Kuzmenko to a deal with a $5 million cap hit, and handed Trevor van Riemsdyk a two-year, $8 million contract.
That doesn’t look like a front office pinching every penny. If anything, it looks like a team still willing to spend on players, even while making sharper choices than before.
There was also a telling quote from Dubas back in March, when he was discussing a changing market and the difference between cap room and actual spending room.
“So, honestly, I think we had one team call that asked if we would be interested (in taking a salary dump), and that was-I mean, there’s cap space and there’s budget space, and they’re two different things as well,” Dubas said. “But that’s where we have to choose where to spend. We like to spend it here on players.”
That was the first real hint from within the organization that budget decisions could matter.
At the same time, Geoff Hoffmann tried to calm the waters at his introductory press conference in June. When asked about the rising cap and whether the Penguins would spend to the limit, he said, “I can commit that Kyle will have whatever resources at his disposal that he needs to have the type of hockey team that can go out there and be successful,” Geoff Hoffmann said. “We’ll follow whatever we need to do in terms of spending to make sure that happens, but that will be Kyle’s call.”
That answer was a little murky, but there still hasn’t been evidence that the Penguins are short on funds.
The Dreger report also came against a backdrop of trade chatter the room already knew about. PHN reported early last week that the Penguins’ locker room was aware of the rumors, and one player responded, “Oh yeah,” when asked if the group knew what was being said. The players, though, said it wasn’t something they were discussing.
For now, the Penguins’ on-ice moves may tell the cleaner story anyway. Dubas overhauled the blue line this offseason, then kept tinkering during the recent four-game road trip. Pittsburgh sent Caleb Jones and an ECHL defenseman to Buffalo for left-shot Ryan Johnson, then assigned Johnson to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton when injuries opened a lane and recalled Ilya Solovyov instead.
Before that, the Penguins brought in Spencer Stastney from the Edmonton Oilers for Filip Hallander. Stastney had been stuck in the press box in Edmonton, but in Pittsburgh he was thrown right into major minutes. Coach Dan Muse started him on the second pairing with Kris Letang, then moved him up to the top pair with Erik Karlsson.
Stastney, Johnson and Solovyov share some clear traits: they’re steady, quiet, mobile and simple. Solovyov brings a little more heft and physical edge, too.
The impact of those changes has been hard to miss. Once the coaches split Karlsson from Declan Carlile, and injuries pulled van Riemsdyk away from Letang, the blue line looked different almost immediately.
The advanced numbers may still be murky, but the results have changed from ugly losses to clean wins. The sloppy turnovers have been replaced by easier exits and simpler breakout passes.
If budget pressure does become a real issue, van Riemsdyk is the obvious place to watch when he returns from injury. His July 1 signing raised eyebrows right away, especially with the idea of asking him to play his off side in a high-leverage role. The Penguins also have prospects and minimum-salary options waiting in the wings if they need them.
In Other News...
Penguins Forward Group Suddenly Has A Chance To Settle Down
The Penguins forward picture has started to look a little less chaotic, and Hendrix Lapierre is part of that shift. After opening as a healthy scratch, Lapierre is now skating on a line with Ville Koivunen and Evgeni Malkin, giving Pittsburgh a different look up front as it tries to find combinations that work early in the season.
Rickard Rakell, meanwhile, has acknowledged a slow offensive start, but hes still getting chances and the organization appears patient with where that production is headed. With general manager Kyle Dubas voicing confidence in Rakells future output, the Penguins may finally have a little runway to let their forward group settle in rather than constantly reshuffle it. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Are Finally Showing Signs Fans Have Been Waiting For
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Elsewhere on the ice, Ville Koivunen and Arturs Silovs also took the temperature of their current roles and where they need to sharpen things up. For a Penguins team still trying to sort out its identity, those are the kinds of conversations that matter, especially when younger players are being asked to absorb more responsibility. The encouraging part is that the team finally seems to have a few on-ice indicators it has been waiting for, even if the broader picture still has some work left to do. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins May Have Found Something In Their Response To Recent Losses
The Penguins got a much-needed response in Nashville, rallying past the Predators in overtime after letting a third-period lead slip away. Even with injuries forcing changes to the lineup, Pittsburgh found enough push from a few different spots to stay in it, and the performance had the look of a team trying to reset the tone after its recent losses.
Head coach Dan Muse pointed to the effort and the progress the group has made since those setbacks, which matters almost as much as the two points. The lineup churn has opened doors for recalled players to contribute, and the bigger question now is whether the Penguins can carry that same urgency into the next game without the late-game scramble becoming part of the pattern. [Read more 🡒]