Alex Galchenyuk isn’t the answer, but you probably already knew that. Neither is Brandon Tanev, but chances are, you knew that, too.

Those are the two newest Penguins, and each one brings something different to the table. Galchenyuk has a 30-goal season under his belt and, in theory, should slot in as a top-six winger. He’s in a contract year, and if he wants to cash in next offseason, a big year is a must.

Tanev, depending on who you ask, is a “fireball,” a “Tasmanian Devil,” or some other similarly intense entity. He’s an objectively good skater and penalty killer, loves to hit and is coming off of a “breakout” 2018-19 season with the Winnipeg Jets.

I put breakout in quotes because he totaled 29 points, 14 of them goals, and is not seen as a particularly gifted offensive player. Tanev is supposed to make the Penguins tougher to play against —  grittier, nastier, sandpaper-ier and really any other –ier word you can think of that is supposed to help a hockey team.

Combined, the two will count $8.4 million against the salary cap next season. As things stand, Jim Rutherford is tight against the cap and might even have to move out a decent-sized contract, like the one belonging to Bryan Rust, to make things work.

When it comes to Galchenyuk and Tanev, your mileage may vary. A cursory Twitter search of either man’s name will yield wildly divergent opinions, vitriol and name-calling. Par for the course, really.

They are deck chairs, though. Phil Kessel being gone was the big move, and there was no one Rutherford could bring in who was going to fill the void Kessel’s departure created.

It should be abundantly clear by now that the Penguins’ biggest hope for a turnaround next season rests with a guy who has been on the roster longer than everyone not named Sidney Crosby.

This coming season will be the year of Evgeni Malkin, for better or worse. If it’s the latter, the Penguins won’t be going anywhere and might struggle to make the playoffs in an improved Metropolitan Division. If it’s the former, then even the wildest dreams are on the table.

Is it good planning to assume he’ll regain his previous form after what most felt was his worst season as a pro?

Here’s maybe a better question: what does a great season from Malkin look like going forward? Since winning the Hart Trophy in the 2011-12 season, Malkin has played more than 70 games and topped more than 80 points once, and that was in 2017-18.

Outside of that season, he’s been productive when healthy, but hasn’t been healthy nearly enough. Last year, everything came to a head. He missed 14 games, and he wasn’t particularly good when in the lineup.

Maybe part of that was Kessel. He wanted to play on Malkin’s wing, but the feeling wasn’t exactly mutual. Maybe part of it was Malkin pressing, something he acknowledged more than once.

Maybe part of it was the fact that Malkin isn’t the singular physical force he was five or 10 years ago. This will be his age-33 season, and while aging doesn’t go hand-in-hand with a dramatic downturn in performance, you can only stave off Father Time (still undefeated, by the way) for so long.

How would a return to form look statistically? Seventy-five games played and 90 points? More? Are the Penguins hoping that Crosby and Malkin revert back to being a fearsome, two-headed monster that terrorizes the league? That just doesn’t seem within the realm of possibility.

Nevertheless, it’s what the Penguins are pretty clearly betting on. They think that a dominant Malkin is their ticket back into contention.

If he doesn’t regain his form, or he does — and what he has left just isn’t what it used to be — Galchenyuk and Tanev could be great, and it won’t matter. Anything less than Malkin’s best won’t be enough for the Penguins.