Kyle Dubas just made another massive announcement after Evgeni Malkin's contract news
Kris Letang and Dan Muse are still part of Pittsburgh's plan, and the Penguins made that clear while announcing Evgeni Malkin's new deal.
That mattered right away.
Because the Malkin extension was already a big story on its own, but the extra note about Letang coming back next season shut down another line of offseason chatter before it could grow.
And in Pittsburgh, that is not a small thing.
Once a team gets older and starts reshaping around its core, every veteran name gets dragged into trade talk, even when the fit still makes sense.
Letang was one of those names.
Not because he stopped mattering, but because that is what happens when a franchise is trying to stay competitive while also managing the last stretch of a historic era.
The Penguins basically answered that in the same breath as the Malkin news.
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The Penguins just made another huge move following Evgeni Malkin's contract
That is the real message here.
Malkin is back on a 1-year contract worth 5.5 million dollars after putting up 19 goals and 42 assists in 56 games in 2025-26. The deal keeps him in Pittsburgh for a 21st season.
So when the Letang update lands alongside that, it tells you the Penguins are not in a rush to break apart what is left of this group.
That makes sense.
Muse is still building his first full NHL program in Pittsburgh after being hired in June 2025, and the Penguins got enough progress this season to justify keeping major voices in place. Muse led them back to the playoffs and was named a Jack Adams finalist.
That matters for Letang too.
He is not just a veteran defenseman on this team. He is one of the players who sets the tone in the room, one of the last links to all 3 Stanley Cup runs, and one of the few Penguins left who can speak with real authority when things get tense.
That is why the return note hits harder than it looks.
It is not only about one player staying off the rumor board.
It is about Pittsburgh making sure the room still has its old spine while Muse and Kyle Dubas keep trying to thread the line between legacy and urgency.
The Penguins are not pretending the clock is not ticking.
They are just not ready to rip the wiring out yet either.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 25, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Jankowski | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||