Penguins unlikely to sign 'flashy' free agent, Dubas says

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Pittsburgh Penguins will aim for smaller bets instead of a big splash in free agency, president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas said Friday.

Dubas, hired June 1, said he would like to supplement centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and defenseman Kris Letang, when free agency opens at 12 p.m. ET on July 1. However, that won't come with a "highly-expensive" free agent, particularly at forward.

"I don't think they're going to be the big, splashy type of UFAs," Dubas said. "They'll probably be more subtle bets. We'll need to hit on them in order to have success. But I don't think you'll see us in the market for the long-term, highly-expensive forwards, especially in free agency."

Crosby led the Penguins with 93 points (33 goals, 60 assists) in 82 games this season. Malkin was second with 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) in 82 games, ahead of first-line left wing Jake Guentzel (73 points; 36 goals, 37 assists) in 78 games. Letang led the defensemen with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games.

Lack of top talent isn't an issue, Dubas said. But that talent alone couldn't help Pittsburgh (40-31-11) avoid missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, ending its streak of 16 straight appearances.

Depth is the problem, and Dubas said the small bets could be the solution.

"We need to add talent, I think, to the forward group," Dubas said. "Last year, the group here got great performances out of its core players and still missed. We need to have players at the bottom of the lineup, on the third or fourth lines, that can add certain utilities, talent being some, penalty killing being others, competitiveness, speed."

Youth is another valuable utility, Dubas said. Malkin will be 37 years old at the start of next season; Crosby and Letang each will be 36.

To get younger around that core, Dubas said he could bet on players that have struggled elsewhere.

"That's looking harder at free agency because the younger guys tend to draw more in terms of term and dollars than what we're probably willing to do," Dubas said. "But there will be players that kind of fit that need, maybe reclamation projects to an extent."

Goalie Tristan Jarry is possibly the most pressing question facing Dubas, who is serving as general manager until someone is hired for the role likely at some point in July.

Jarry could become an unrestricted free agent after spending the past three seasons as the No. 1 goalie. The 28-year-old was 24-13-7 with a 2.90 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and two shutouts in 47 starts this season.

No goalie in the system is currently capable of replacing Jarry next season, Dubas said.

"You have a situation in net where you have Casey DeSmith signed and you have Tristan unrestricted," Dubas said. "In past years, it might have just been Tristan or Matt Murray, or whomever the goalie's been, going back to Marc-Andre Fleury. There's always been young guys who are there. We don't have that yet.

"We have young goaltenders we like, but nobody that's pushing. So, there's either going to have to be a solution with Tristan or we're going to have to, through trade or free agency, address that."

Defenseman Brian Dumoulin and forward Jason Zucker each could also become an unrestricted free agent.

Dumoulin has primarily partnered with Letang on the top defense pair in 10 NHL seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. Defensemen Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Ty Smith are being evaluated as potential successors, Dubas said.

Zucker scored 27 goals this season, tied with Malkin for fourth on the Penguins, and his most since when he had 33 with the Minnesota Wild in 2017-18.

"We've had varying degrees of conversation with them," Dubas said of Jarry, Dumoulin and Zucker. "I've never viewed it as being optimistic or pessimistic. I think it's trying to figure out what the market's going to be for them and then whether our view of it aligns with the player and their agent.

"We'll probably have a decision on whether it's going to work here or not by the time we get to next Wednesday. That will allow us to have a plan going into Friday, Saturday and free agency. … The dance is ongoing right now with all of them."