The pandemic really screwed up business around the globe. Sports leagues were no exception to this. As a result the NHL's salary cap stalled out and what would have certainly been a situation where the cap went up, it did not.
There is some good news on this front today as the rumor is the league will be increasing the cap by 1M to 82.5M. The new TV deals are the likely driving force at play and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Penguins with extensions looming for Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust.
NHL GMs have officially been told by the league the salary cap is going up $1 million to $82.5 million for next season. @TSNHockey @TheAthletic
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 29, 2022
I see no reason why the Penguins can't extend all three of those players. I think it could have been done without the increase in salary cap, but I think that extra million makes the path easier.
Here's what I think I know about the situaiton(s):
Evgeni Malkin is willing to take a discount from his 9.5M salary. I think the new contract could be in that 7.5M range so you're saving ~2M there.
Kris Letang wants a contract with an 8 in front of it. Let's call it 8.5M. This would be an increase of ~1.25M from the 7.25M he currently makes. The salary cap increase takes care of most of this.
Bryan Rust wants to be paid and nobody should question him on it. The question is who is willing to pay him. I think the Penguins should want to and should try to make it happen. My best guess for Rust remains a six year contract worth around 6M. Perhaps I'm off, but I don't think I'll be significantly off (I don't think it will be significantly higher). He makes 3.5M now so that is an increase of 2.5M. The hypothetical ~2M savings on Evgeni Malkin's new contract covers most of this raise.
There are other variables at play like the fact Jack Johnson's buyout cap hit next year is 1.9M. Jeff Carter got a raise as well so the 1M cap increase isn't going to fix everything for the Penguins. However, I haven't even brought up the potential of moving out some pretty meh mid-tier contracts the Penguins have like Jason Zucker, Brock McGinn, and/or someone like Brian Dumoulin. They will have to trim the fat somewhere, but it is entirely plausible and realistic.
As long as the Penguins are competitive with their offers I see a clear path to retaining the services of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust.
Thanks for reading!