By David Pagnotta, Special to NBCSports.com -- TORONTO -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have most of the tools of becoming the NHL's next big dynasty, but they're missing a few key pieces to an already impressive puzzle.

Led by superstar Sidney Crosby, the Penguins ranked fourth in the league in goals-for this past season; eleven players finished the 2006-07 campaign with 12 or more goals. At the other end of the rink, however, Pittsburgh sat 14th in the NHL in goals-against. While that is still a solid accomplishment, it's not dynasty material.

Heading into the off-season, and free agency, priority No. 1 for the Penguins should be the shaping of their blueline.

With Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney providing plenty of offensive punch from the point, GM Ray Shero has to focus on improving his club's defensive game.

Gonchar, Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton are under contract next season, while Whitney is a restricted free agent in line for a nice raise. Three of these four rearguards will automatically claim an everyday roster spot, giving Shero plenty of room to play with.

Josef Melichar, Eric Cairns, Robert Scuderi, Alain Nasreddine and Joel Kwiatkowski are all unrestricted free agents, and while the Pens may re-sign one or two, it's safe to assume none will return on a full-time basis. Prospect Kristopher Letang will fight for a fixed spot on the blueline, leaving only one position remaining.

The Penguins tried to add an extra defenseman at the trade deadline, but came up short.

Of the impending UFAs, only a handful are proven stay-at-home defensemen. The Penguins must focus on luring one and adding him to their defensive core, ultimately strengthening the club's overall performance.

Atlanta's Andy Sutton, San Jose's Scott Hannan and Craig Rivet, and Los Angeles' Aaron Miller should sit atop Pittsburgh's wish list, with New Jersey's Brad Lukowich, Detroit's Danny Markov and Dallas' Jon Klemm among the Plan B's.

Hannan and Miller may work best in Steeltown USA, for two reasons.

For starters, Miller would give the Penguins a strong, reliable defensive defenseman the team lacks. He would welcome the opportunity to play for a Cup contender and isn't likely to ask for a significant raise over the $2.28 million he made in 2006-07.

Hannan, on the other hand, only 28 years old (Miller is 35) and would mesh well with Pittsburgh's young core. Signing him to a four- or five-year contract would give the Penguins an excellent asset they can add to their dynasty-potential lineup. He will cost around $3.5 million per season, but is well worth every penny.

Up front, meanwhile, the Penguins could use some additional experience to solidify their quest for the Cup.

The re-signings of RFAs Colby Armstrong, Maxime Talbot, Michel Ouellet and Erik Christensen is inevitable, while veterans Mark Recchi, 39, and Gary Roberts, who turns 41 on May 23, have expressed their desire to stay in Pittsburgh and their agent, Rich Curran, will begin negotiations with Shero later this week.

If one, or both, of Recchi or Roberts do not return, the club will have to find a replacement to reinforce their top-six. Adding a veteran two-way forward would also prove to be beneficial, and there are some available this July, including the likes of Minnesota's Todd White and Toronto's Michael Peca.

On the trade front, the Penguins may finally put all the speculation to rest and ship winger Ryan Malone out of town. The 27-year-old has been at the center of almost every Pens-related trade rumor for over a year and with the amount of depth this team has, he appears to be the odd-man out.

Pittsburgh is a couple veteran players away from being a true Stanley Cup contender and they may fill those voids this summer either via free agency or the trade front.

Keep a close eye on the Penguins (do be do be dooo), they're out to prove their late-season run was only the beginning.

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