As the Stanley Cup Playoffs march, we are now less than a month and a half away from the start of free agency on July 1st.

Here in Pittsburgh, the Penguins have a lot of cap space heading into the 2025-26 season, and while we don’t know how busy they plan to be in the trade market and in free agency, the Penguins don’t have a ton to worry about when it comes to their expiring contracts.

Of players who appeared in at least one NHL game this season, the Penguins have nine players on expiring contracts. Only two of them are over the age of 30, and over half of those pending free agents are restricted free agents.

I wanted to take a look at whose deals are expiring, and determine whether it makes sense for the Penguins to bring each player back.

The list goes in descending order of their 2024-25 cap hit.

Matt Grzelcyk

When the Penguins signed Grzelcyk to a contract last July, it seemed like a prime contract to trade at the deadline. Grzelcyk was coming off a career worst season, and fetched a one-year deal with the Penguins worth $2.75 million.

On a team that didn’t do much in free agency last year and wasn’t poised to make an aggressive push for the playoffs, the plan seemed pretty simple. Grzelcyk could rehab his name in Pittsburgh for a few months, and be shipped out to a contending team looking to bulk up ahead of the playoffs.

For the Penguins, the situation worked almost too perfectly. Grzelcyk had a career year offensively, recording 40 points in 82 games while averaging 20:37 a night. In no other season had Grzelcyk even cracked 26.

As the trade deadline came, the Penguins sold off easy-to-move contracts and rental forwards like Anthony Beauvillier. But as the deadline came and went, Grzelcyk went…nowhere. Dubas held on to Grzelcyk for the rest of the season, a peculiar decision given his expiring contract and an extremely seller-friendly trade market in March.

But as of now, I would take Grzelcyk back on another one-year deal. His play certainly earned him a decent raise, but I think Grzelcyk really found his game in Pittsburgh and I would love to see him start 2025-26 with the Penguins.

Although I thought this last year, Grzelcyk would be a prime candidate to be traded next March and net the Penguins some good assets back. If he’s willing to come back and do this dance again, I’m very willing.