The Penguins are going to have around 26 million in cap space in the offseason if not more if and when they decide to move Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell, or both. But it is not for sure that they are going to spend the big money right away on prized winger Mitch Marner.
The Penguins are trying to give the core three one more go at the very least of a Stanley Cup Playoffs run, but that does not seem to be next season as they are still needing to retool the team. Their target seems to be the 2026-27 season and Marner will not want to miss the playoffs for the first time in a while.
If Dubas spends right away, Marner could be the right call but do not get your hopes up
General Manager Kyle Dubas is going to have cap space to work with in the offseason, but if he spends it right away remains to be seen. He has started to gather draft capital and cap space in advance of within the next few seasons of retooling the team.
The big ticket that everyone is going to be after is Mitch Marner and Dubas knows him well from his Toronto days. It would be a big get for the club but it is not something that the Penguins should be holding on to hope for.
Marner is either going to want to stay in Toronto or sign with another contender. The Penguins likely are not going to be a contender next year unless Dubas really starts the retool and the plan which remains to be seen.
But getting Marner is not something the Penguins should be holding on to hope for.
If Dubas is going to target anyone, it would be someone like JJ Peterka to help the retool
The Penguins have been a team that has had their name thrown around in the JJ Peterka sweepstakes and rightfully so.
He is exactly the player that the Penguins would love to have for their retool or rebuild or whatever you would like to call it. If the Penguins were going to target someone that truly fits their plans, it would be Peterka and not Marner.
Marner is someone that is way older and yes is still in his prime but is going to be after the big bucks. Peterka is under contract but is young and does just about most of the scoring that Marner does.
If Penguins fans are to bet on anything, it would be targeting JJ Peterka over Mitch Marner.