Kyle Dubas has spent some valuable cap space as he has signed important RFA's that are now locked up for the next season or beyond and now allow the GM to turn into using the remaining cap space to acquire any other players that can make an impact for the 2026-27 season.
Yesterday it was announced the Penguins signed the following RFA's
- Arturs Silovs inks a one year deal at $2,800,000 AAV
Solid prove it deal for Silovs after he had an impressive showing in his three 2026 stanley cup playoff starts and showed that there is more work to be done as he will be the starter going forward. Just under three million dollars will not hurt the Penguins cap going forward and it gives him an opportunity to try and earn a payday.
- Egor Chinakhov locked up on a three year bridge deal at a cap hit of $6,250,000 and will become a unrestricted free agent at age 28.
It could be viewed as an overpay for Chinakhov but he was on a 40 goal pace the moment he played his first game for the Penguins and could repeat or be a consistent 30 goal scorer under the system of Dan Muse and with the correct line-mates. With the cap going up more and more by year, this could become a steal. His market value was around $5.3 to $5.5 per year so hence why it could be an overpay. Chinakhov becomes the second highest paid forward on the team behind Sidney Crosby.
- Penguins signed Joel Blomqvist (two years) and David Gustafsson (one year) to contracts
Joel Blomqvist is a surprise after the comments he made this past season as he was the backup behind Sergei Murashov and complained about playing time and starts. He will be more than likely the Wilkes Barre starter this upcoming season and the third goalie barring injuries or struggles in the net up in Pittsburgh. Gustafsson will be a nice centre depth piece for Wilkes Barre and adds veteran experience.
The only RFA's that need to be signed are Ville Koivunen and Nick Robertson. It is worthy to note that Nick Robertson did file for salary arbitration which will allow the forward to go to the mediator table and pitch his case for what he believes his contract should be. That will be conducted later this month, or the two sides reach a deal before the arbitration hearing.
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