Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 Players With Expiring Contracts

With the off-season almost completed, it feels right to take a preview into next year's. In this segment, we will be looking at three players from each team who have expiring contracts. Both restricted and unrestricted free agents are eligible for discussion.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot of important players with expiring contracts. It will be interesting to see how the franchise handles all of this, as they are going to be extremely busy.

Evgeni Malkin C (UFA): Evgeni Malkin is one of the best players to ever play for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has spent the entirety of his 15-year NHL career with the team, where he has won three Stanley Cups, the Conn Smythe Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Art Ross trophy twice. Even at 35 years old, he is still a very good player when healthy. In 33 games last season, he scored eight goals and had 28 points. He will be missing the beginning of this season.

Kris Letang D (UFA): Kris Letang is longtime Penguin who has done a lot for the franchise as well. Like Malkin, he has spent all 15 years of his NHL career thus far in Pittsburgh. He is still quite effective as well. In 55 games this past season, he scored seven goals and recorded 45 points. If he has another season like that, he will certainly land himself another good contract.

Bryan Rust RW (UFA): Bryan Rust is just another top player for the Penguins who needs a new deal next summer. In 56 games last season, he scored 22 goals and had 42 points. During the season before, he had 56 points in 55 games, so it's clear that he's blossomed into a legitimate top-six winger in this league. He is eligible for unrestricted free agency, so if he opts to test the market, he could be able to land himself a very big contract.

More Players: Kasperi Kapanen RW (RFA), Jeff Carter C (UFA), Zach Aston-Reese RW (UFA)