The Pittsburgh Penguins trio of Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang have been together for 20 years, but could be split up after losing their series to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

The Pens dropped Game 6 by a score of 1-0 in overtime to the Flyers, after crawling back from being down 3-0 in the series. Cam York put the game away with 2:28 left in the period and his first goal of the series was arguably the biggest one. Now, it’s the offseason for the Penguins, and the organization has some housekeeping to do.

Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang have been teammates since the 2006-07 season. Crosby still has another year on his contract, Letang is signed until 2028, but Malkin’s four-year contract that he signed in 2022 is set to end this offseason.

This raises a big question surrounding whether or not their Russian counterpart will be a Penguin heading into the 2026-27 season. In a media appearance on Wednesday night, Crosby spoke about his desire to keep the squad together.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words, honestly,” said Crosby.

“It’s something that we probably have just gotten used to, but I think they’re like family. That’s the best way to describe it. We’ve had some great wins, some tough losses like this. Ultimately, though, that’s a long time that we’ve played together. Just so appreciative for the opportunity to have played with them as long as we have. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

The three players have had great success together during their two-decade long tenure. They have won three Stanley Cups in 2009, 2016, and 2017, and have collected a combined 3,867 points for the franchise: Crosby leading the way with 1,761 – Malkin notching 1,263, and Letang with 843.

For the longest tenured trio in NHL history, it would be strange if Malkin’s expiring contract is not renewed. He’s turning 40-years-old on July 31, and has played 1,269 games as nearly a point-per-game player, recording 533 goals in his career. His age isn’t showing in his production either, as he recorded 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games this season.

The three players displayed their importance to the team this season as they led them to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, despite being written off early by most analysts and fans.

Daily Faceoff’s Hunter Crowther reported in February that Malkin’s team is playing the “wait and see” approach when it comes to his next contract, electing to not begin talks until the end of the season. Now we are here, and talks have remained relatively quiet between the Penguins and Malkin for now.

Cole Caufield, Anze Kopitar, and Jake Sanderson were named as the finalists for the 2026 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

This award is given to the player who exemplifies sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, while also being among the elite players in the league.

For Caufield, he is the first Montreal Canadiens player to reach 50 goals since Stephane Richer in 1989-90. The Habs superstar finished second in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, trailing Nathan MacKinnon by two goals. He had 14 penalty minutes in 81 games, leading his team to finish third in the Atlantic Division.

If Caufield were to win, this would make him the third Canadien in the franchise’s 117 year history, joining Toe Blake (1945-46) and Mats Naslund (1987-88).

Kopitar has been nominated for the Lady Byng five times in his 20-year career, with his most recent nomination last year, winning for the fourth time. As he wrapped up the final season of his career, he received only 10 penalty minutes in 67 games, tallying 12 goals and 38 points at the same time.

Winning this year’s trophy would put Kopitar in some elite company for the NHL record books. The only player to have won back-to-back Lady Byng Memorial trophies was Martin St. Louis in 2010 and 2011, and the only players to win four in their career are Wayne Gretzky, Red Kelly, and Pavel Datsyuk.

The Senators have never had a player win the award, and Sanderson could snap that this year. He finished with just eight penalty minutes in 67 games, despite being ninth in the league for average time on ice with 25 minutes per game. Through this, he supported the team with 14 goals and 54 points, as the team made the playoffs for their second consecutive year.

In 2024, Jessica Campbell made NHL history as the first ever female coach in the league. Now, she is electing to explore other options upon the expiration of her two-year contract.

The Seattle Kraken released a statement from general manager Jason Botterill following Campbell’s decision to move on from the organization.

Botterill expressed Campbell’s importance to the team over the last four years – she joined the organization in 2022 as an assistant coach for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

“As Jessica’s current contract expires, she has expressed her desire to explore other coaching roles across the League and we support her in this process,” Botterill said. “We respect her decision and believe strongly in her as a coach in this league.”

During Campbell’s two years in the NHL, the team in front of her missed the playoffs both years. She’s worked with two head coaches in that time frame as Dan Bylsma was fired in the 2025 offseason, and now Lane Lambert is in the position.

Her coaching career began in 2017-18 when she was an assistant coach for the Kelowna based hockey development program, Pursuit of Excellence, for two years. Then she spent a year coaching the U-18 Okanagan Hockey Academy team, before going to Europe to coach in Sweden and Germany for two years, including the 2022 German IIHF World Championship team. Germany placed fourth in the tournament following a 6-1 loss to the United States in the bronze medal game.

As teams like the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets have vacant assistant coach jobs, there are already several options for her next landing spot.

For Campbell, she was clearly a valued member of the Kraken’s organization to earn her such a prominent statement from Botterill, and she will look to make an impact wherever she goes.

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