Every Penguins fan remembers the heartbreak that they felt when the team traded Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes a few seasons ago at the NHL Trade Deadline. That is when Penguins fans knew General Manager Kyle Dubas had a plan and was serious about rebuilding or retooling or whichever term he would like to use.
But with it most likely being Evgeni Malkin's last season in the upcoming 2025-26 season, the Penguins should take one last run at the Stanley Cup and try to get him one more ring and end on a high note. This is not a likely route, but with missing the playoffs the last three seasons, Malkin deserves one more shot.
One step towards making Malkin's last season worthwhile is signing this player
Also, not a likely thing to happen, but if the Penguins truly want to make Malkin's last season in the NHL really worth it, they could sign Mitch Marner in Free Agency.
Dubas knew Marner from his days of being the Toronto Maple Leafs GM and is very familiar with him and the kind of game that he plays. But the problem with Marner is the fact that he is going to command a whole ton of money on the open market.
The Penguins are not in position to sign a free agent of his caliber and throw a ton of money at that kind of player, but if the Penguins wanted to go for it in the 25-26 season, Marner would be the first step.
The Penguins and Malkin can meet in the middle and call it even
The current plan seems to be working in Dubas's favor but it also can work in Malkin's favor and him and the team can meet in the middle and both be happy.
Dubas came out and said in his end-of-season press conference a few weeks ago, that the Penguins would be in position to offersheet or trade for restricted free agents that were not in the original team's price range to keep.
Players of those caliber include Mason McTavish, JJ Peterka, and Gabriel Vilardi among others. Getting one of these three players helps the Penguins get younger and also helps improve the team for the upcoming season which would make Malkin happy.
This method would help both parties meet in the middle and both be happy and Dubas would stick with his rebuild or retool plan that he has been working on the last couple seasons.