Hextall: ‘A Number’ of Prospects Might Be NHL-Ready (+)

CRANBERRY — It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins have limited salary-cap space with which to work as they begin to construct their team for the 2022-23 season.

And while there will be many moving parts in coming months as Ron Hextall and his staff try to assemble their roster, the Penguins might free up a little cap space if prospects working under entry-level contracts can fill jobs that have been held by higher-paid veterans.

The savings wouldn’t be enormous in most cases — the young players coming in would figure to be bottom-six forwards and a third-pairing defenseman — but any dollar the Penguins save in one part of the lineup can be used elsewhere.