Kyle Dubas opened up the Pittsburgh Penguins offseason on Thursday by re-signing
two depth players in forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Ilya Solovyov.Dewar, a pending unrestricted free agent, received a two-year, $4.5 million extension with a $2.25 million salary cap hit per season. Solovyov, meanwhile, received a one-year, $850,000 contract.
On the surface, they are relatively minor extensions. But they are still solid pieces of work and provide some necessary depth for the 2026-27 season.
Dewar
is the most noteworthy of the moves and the one that is likely to have the biggest impact. It’s also probably the best value. Dewar is still only 26 years old, and while he is coming off a career year offensively, it was not so outrageously above his previous numbers that it figures to be unsustainable or something he can not repeat. It is also only a minor raise over what he was earning on his previous contract, both in terms of real dollars ($1.1 million vs. $2.25 million) and percentage of the salary cap (1.15 percent vs. 2.2 percent).
But what it really does is continue to give the Penguins the foundation of a very good, very affordable fourth line.
With Blake Lizotte also back in the mix, the Dewar-Lizotte duo figures to be the core part of that line. In parts of two seasons together that duo has played 530 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey together, outscoring their opponents by a 21-19 margin, while also coming out on the positive side of almost every possession and scoring chance metric.
They are 52.7 percent in shot attempt share, 54.2 percent in scoring chance share, 50.0 percent in high-danger scoring chance share and 51.5 percent share in expected goals share. They tilt the ice in the Penguins’ favor, and they do it while facing the heaviest defensive zone starts on the team. In those minutes together the Dewar-Lizotte duo started just 14.9 percent of their shifts in the offensive zone.
That is effective.
Very effective.
They have also been one of the Penguins’ best penalty-killing duos, with the team allowing just 3.95 goals per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice-time and 7.13 expected goals against per 60 minutes. When that duo is not on the ice the Penguins allowed 8.88 goals per 60 minutes and 7.74 expected goals per 60 minutes.
Getting the two of them for a combined salary cap hit of just $4.5 million for the next two years (Lizotte has an extra year beyond that) is extremely cap-friendly. Especially when that line also figures to have somebody like Avery Hayes or Elmer Soderblom on it.
It’s just smart business.
Especially when if the Penguins were going to try and find a replacement for Dewar on the open-market it was probably going to end up costing them significantly more money for a player that was likely older, and probably not as good.
What gets teams into trouble with the salary cap isn’t overpaying for its top players or stars at the top of the lineup.
It’s making a bunch of little mistakes on the lower half of the roster and giving too much money, over too many years to depth players.
You don’t need to sign a bottom-six player to a seven-year deal.
You don’t need to pay $4 or $5 million per year for somebody that is going to play on your fourth line.
This is the perfect depth signing, and it is even better that it is for a player that is still in their mid-20s and has a decent track record of success with the team.
Solovyov, meanwhile, just seems like a classic depth signing and the type of player you need to fill out a sixth-seventh defenseman role. He did not get a lot of playing time following the trade from Colorado, but he always seemed to hold his own. So much so that I would not hate seeing him get an opportunity to get more of an extended look next season.
Now that they are back there are really only three pending free agents (restricted or unrestricted) from last year’s team that the Penguins should be interested in bringing back on new deals: Forwards Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov and goalie Arturs Silovs.
As a restricted free agent, and given the way he played, Chinakhov seems like a given, unless some sort of unforeseen trade opportunity presents itself.
Silovs, a restricted free agent, figures to be part of the goalie duo next season along with prized goalie prospect Sergei Murashov.
Malkin is still the bigger mystery.
Beyond those two I would be fine with letting everybody else walk.
Anthony Mantha had a great regular season, but his playoff performance was such a negative that it pretty much soured almost everybody on the thought of a new contract. Especially at the price he might receive in a weak free agent class, under a rising cap, and coming off a 33-goal season.
I like what Ryan Shea did, and he was a solid, effective player. But he is going to be 30 years old and, like Mantha, could be looking at the type of contract that could be one of those little mistakes that can quickly add up into big mistakes.
Kevin Hayes and Connor Timmins? They effectively did their job as contract fodder to help the Penguins acquire future draft pick assets. Similar thought with goalie Stuart Skinner, who not only helped bring in a longer-team asset (second-round pick), but also helped get rid of Tristan Jarry’s contract.
Noel Accairi? Really good part of the fourth line, but it is time for somebody younger (and cheaper) to fill that spot.
There is still a lot of work ahead this offseason, but they filled two roster spots with useful depth pieces that do not hurt the cap, break the bank or cost them any additional assets. Solid start to the offseason.
