LAS VEGAS -- The Penguins have a decent amount of cap space -- roughly $9 million -- to play with when free agency opens on July 1.
And Kyle Dubas doesn't anticipate freeing up any more ... at least not in pure cap-dump trades.
"I think with where we're at, the only thing that's really important to us is that if we're moving players out, the return has to be good," Dubas said before Day 1 of the draft in Las Vegas on Friday."I don't think we're a team with where we're at where we're going to be looking to do these types of deals, that where we're looking to move salary over, willing to do core deals or attach any assets."
Dubas said that the kinds of trades they'd be open to making are those where they get futures in return -- draft picks, prospects or younger NHL-roster players.
"We would be more in that realm than we would be in trying to move off our guys to create more space to get into free agency," Dubas said. "We won't be involved in the long-term free agency stuff."
Dubas said that there are only three of their pending free agents with whom they are currently speaking and trying to re-sign: P.O Joseph and Emil Bemstrom from the NHL roster, and forward prospect Corey Anonovski, who has yet to play an NHL game but whose entry-level contract is expiring.
Asked what kind of unrestricted fee agents the Penguins may target on July 1, Dubas didn't exactly narrow it down. The list of potential targets is essentially anyone who isn't a goalie. They're all good on that.
"That would be really at all positions, aside from in net," Dubas said. "We won't be active there. We'll be active in all the other facets to try to help the team and remain flexible. That's the way we'll go about it."
Within that, as he's mentioned a number of times, he wouldn't expect the Penguins to be in on the bigger-name, longer-term free agents.
"The free agents, it'll be guys on shorter term with where we're at," Dubas said. "You know, bringing in one guy on a long-term deal or two guys on long-term deals isn't really what we need. We need to make sure that we have the flexibility and the options to bring in younger, hungrier players that can help us to get back to where everyone wants the team to be as quickly as we can."
The Penguins have just barely missed out on the playoffs the last two seasons -- another win or two could have made the difference. Dubas made clear that the moves he's looking to make to reshape the Penguins this season aren't just to get that extra win or two to get into the playoffs. They've got a ways to go to be real contenders. And getting younger will be a big part of that.
"In Pittsburgh, to be a team that just squeaks in, I understand that would be nice to be in, but we want to be a contender," Dubas said. "So we have to put the work in and accrue the assets that are going to allow us to get there and do that. That's going to be our focus. We're going to try here. It's not that we're going to go into free agency and do nothing. We're going to try to get established guys on shorter-term deals and come in and try to help. But that'll be up to us to select the right players there. The major focus is trying to bring in players that are younger, hungrier, that can be with our club for a long time and help us long-term."
So, to sum up, it's quite the wish list for Dubas: Players of any position who are younger but established, but not established enough to land big, longer-term deals.
