The Pittsburgh Penguins had another disappointing season and could make some major changes to their roster this offseason.
The Penguins failed to make the playoffs again, and one insider expects Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas to make some major changes to their roster. NHL insider Rob Couch of NHLTradeRumors named Kevin Hayes as a potential buyout candidate this season.
“With Kyle Dubas as the general manager and Sidney Crosby and company hanging around playing well, the Pittsburgh Penguins are not throwing in the white towel,” Couch wrote. “There are going to be changes to help this team make it back to the postseason, and that may start with a buyout of Kevin Hayes.
“In order for some of the young talent to have room to get into the lineup and make a difference, some spots have to be freed up,” Couch added. “Hayes has one year left of his seven-year deal, and the buyout wouldn’t be so bad since the Penguins are only paying part of it. His cap hit with the Penguins is $3.571 million AAV.”
Hayes is in the final year of his seven-year, $50 million deal, but the Philadelphia Flyers are retaining half his salary. With that, if Pittsburgh decides to buy out Hayes, it would save them $1.33 million this season in cap space, but would have a $666,667 cap hit in 2026-27.
Hayes skated in 64 games, recording 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points.
Penguins GM Believes Team is Close to Competing
Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs again and has an aging core built around Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
However, despite Pittsburgh’s team being older, Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations and general manager Kyle Dubas feels better with the team now than he did after last year.
“Maybe we had less points than we had last year, but I feel like we’re slightly better positioned as we move ahead because of the younger players here,” Dubas said on April 21. “We have our own younger players that have come up, performed well, and I’m more optimistic going into next year than I was organizationally. The results are going to be what they’re going to be, but I feel we’re closer to where we want to get back to now than last year.”
Pittsburgh finished the season with a record of 34-36-12 and finished with the ninth-worst record in the NHL.
Penguins Hopeful to Build a Sustainable Winning Team
The Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, but since then, the team has struggled.
Pittsburgh has missed the playoffs in three straight years and hasn’t made it past the first round since 2018. With that, Dubas says his goal is to build a sustainable winning team and he knows it may take time.
“It’s not trying to find a way just to sneak into the playoffs. It’s trying to find a way to arrive back there and then remain back there,” Dubas said. “We continue to (be) committed to our plan and program to return there as urgently as possible.
“When I say as urgently as possible, I try not to put a timeline on it because I don’t want to be a perpetual and evergreen conference when we come in and say ‘Ah, we’re a year or two or so away.’ We’re pushing. That’s what the organization is used to and what the fans want. We just have to stick to a very concise plan and execute our butts off. That’s for sure.”
Pittsburgh will have the 11th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Insider Names Penguins’ $50 Million Star as Buyout Candidate in Offseason