3 offseason mistakes the Pittsburgh Penguins will come to regret

2. Handing Out Lengthy Extensions

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a difficult situation with both their cap and their window to compete, which is getting shorter and shorter each season as its core ages.

At present, the Penguins have the second-oldest roster in the entire NHL at 29.3 years old, and they are fairly cap strapped – already sitting close to $1.5 million over the ceiling.

This makes it difficult for the Penguins to retool, and the primary reason for that has been a number of extensions handed out to key players this summer. While it’s important to lock these guys up, it’s the length of deals that some have received that raises even more eyebrows.

Rickard Rakell received a whopping six-year, $5 million AAV contract from the Penguins after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks late last season – where he registered 13 points in 19 regular season games after the move.

Rakell is already 29 years old, which means he will be 35 by the time the deal ends and it is likely that the Penguins’ window to compete before needing a serious rebuild will shut long before that – making the deal a surprise.

The Swedish winger was once good for over 30 goals a season, but outside of last season he has failed to eclipse 20 since 2018 and has never played a full 82-game season in his career. Rakell should be a solid contributor for the team over the next couple of seasons, but having him locked up for so long is a decision that will likely see him traded before the end.

Alongside Rakell’s new deal is one that was even more important to the team, but could also have serious ramifications down the line. Kris Letang is a legend in Pittsburgh and could very well be on his way to the Hall of Fame after such a stellar career.

Determined to win another cup, the Penguins handed Letang a new six-year, $6.1 million extension that will keep him with the team until 2028 – at which point he will have turned 41 years old.

Letang is still a top-performing defenseman in the NHL and it’s hoped that he can maintain his performances through the next few years, but father time is rarely beaten and this is another contract that makes life difficult for the team later on.

It’s an exceptionally high cap hit for a player already in the latter stages of his career, and beside the ten-team no-trade list he has to submit in the final two years, it holds a full no-move clause.

Three years from now, the Penguins may find themselves needing to undergo a rebuild akin to what the Arizona Coyotes are doing at present, and while Letang’s leadership will be valuable, it’s unlikely that he will be the player he is today and keeping him around for so long seems counterproductive in the long-term.