5 moves the Penguins could make in the offseason.

The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered what many consider to be a stunning exit in the playoffs, sort of, after just 4 games against the Montreal Canadiens. The Penguins came into the Qualifying Round series against the Canadiens as heavy favorites, the biggest favorite of any team participating in the Qualifying Round in fact, but instead of what should have been a warm up series against the lowest seeded team in the tournament the Penguins have once again had a disappointing playoff exit and changes now seem inevitable.

To be perfectly honest though it is not just the ugly loss to the Canadiens that will result in a much different looking Penguins roster next season, the salary cap crunch imposed on National Hockey League due to the COVID-19 outbreak will be felt by every team in the league and among those most affected will be the Penguins. The Penguins have $68.2 millions dollars already committed to the cap for next season but that includes just 15 players on their roster with a number of players set to hit free agency when the offseason finally does roll around. Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford will have some difficult choices to make in the near future no doubt, but some of the moves the Penguins might make in the near future are more obvious than others.

Keeping that in mind here's a look at some moves the Penguins could make in the offseason.

#1 Letting free agents walk.

The easiest way for Rutherford to make room under the salary cap will be to let some of his unrestricted free agents leave in the offseason. Long time Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz could be one of the victims here with his $5.5 million salary coming off the books this summer. Players like forwards Conor Sheary and Patrick Marleau seem like players almost certainly destined to end up leaving after their contracts expire as well. 

#2 Trading a goaltender.

The Penguins, or at least head coach Mike Sullivan, leaned on the veteran Matt Murray during the playoffs before eventually putting in perennial backup Tristan Jarry in for a pivotal Game 4 against the Canadiens. I'll be honest that doesn't really leave a clear picture of which way the Penguins are leaning on this one but the fact that Jarry was given the green light for an elimination game does show me that the Penguins have a great deal of confidence in his abilities. It also has to be said that Jarry outperformed Murray in the regular season and despite the Game 4 loss he had a strong showing with a 1.02 goals against average and a .952 save percentage in a losing effort. 

Murray's cap hit is currently a very reasonable $3.75 million but as a restricted free agent he could command much more, although admittedly the uncertainty caused by the pandemic may end up influencing just how much free agents can command in the offseason. Jarry is also set to become an RFA and currently counts against the Penguins cap for an even more reasonable $675,000. There are many who feel paying the younger Jarry who would likely cost significantly less than Murray is the right path forward for the Penguins. This would mean trading Matt Murray at some point during the offseason, although things could very easily go the other way with the Penguins keeping Murray and choosing to trade Jarry.

#3 Trading Kris Letang

In a recent article for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Penguins beat reporter Matt Vensel suggested "Given the cap situation, moving Letang might be the only way for Rutherford to make significant changes to this roster." That is a bold statement on the part of Vensel but he does qualify it by suggesting that defenseman John Marino may be ready to move up the team's top paring. Letang is coming off another solid season so it is not like he is a liability on the roster by any means, but if the Penguins could move his $7.25 million salary off the books it would certainly give Rutherford a lot more room to make moves over the summer. Admittedly this one is a long shot though given Letang's tenure and history with the franchise, there may very well be a desire within the organization and perhaps even from Letang himself to see him retire as a Penguin.

#4 Getting rid of Jack Johnson.

It will be easier said than done but the much maligned Penguins defenseman has been the subject of trade rumors for a long time, and for good reason. Johnson has simply not clicked with the Penguins and it may very well be that at 33 years old his best years in the National Hockey League have already passed him by. His $3.25 million salary is an overpay for what he brings to the table at this point and with 3 more years left to go on his current deal the Penguins would almost certainly have to give up another asset to convince another team to take on his deal.

#5 Trading Evgeni Malkin.

I'll begin immediately by saying that I do not believe this will happen. Malkin's name was the subject of trade rumors last summer right around the same time that we began to hear of trade rumors involving now former Penguins forward Phil Kessel, as we now know the Penguins would eventually deal Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes. Despite the credible rumors however I don't believe that trading Evgeni Malkin has ever truly been on the table, although admittedly I could be wrong. I believe that the Penguins organization wants to see both Malkin and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby to retire as Penguins and for that reason alone I don't see Malkin being traded. It is also important to remember that Malkin is coming off another very strong showing in the regular season with 25 goals and 49 assists for a combined total of 74 points in just 55 games last season. That is the kind of production you don't easily replace, even considering Malkin's hefty cap hit of $9.5 million, which adds yet another reason to the list of reasons I suspect Malkin will remain a Penguin. It is true that Malkin was heavily criticized for his lack of production in the series against the Canadiens but I don't believe that is enough to tip the scales against him.