Mike DeFabo: Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall said that he has had contract talks with pending unrestricted free agents Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust.
Pens Inside Scoop: Hextall on contract talks with Malkin and Letang: “We’ve had discussions with both guys. Certainly they’re a top priority for us. We have a limited amount of cap space to squeeze everybody in, but that’s certainly our goal. Negotiations have been fine, and we’ll continue on.”
Mike DeFabo: Hextall added: ” We’re hoping that our guys are comfortable here, which I believe they are. Hopefully we can we can find a deal that satisfies both sides.”
Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguins GM Ron Hextall said contract talks with pending UFAs Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are ongoing.
“So it’s certainly a match that we’d like to continue on with. But obviously the players have choices, too. So we’ll see where go.”
Hextall added:
“I like our group. I think our record speaks for itself. And we’d like to sign some of our UFAs. We have a hard salary cap. So they’re going to have to honestly work with us. And certain players, if they want the most money, they’re probably going to go elsewhere. But I think you can say that about every team.”
Hextall when asked about the trade deadline and if there are any areas they’d look to upgrade on.
“I feel pretty comfortable with our team right now and our depth. But certainly as we get towards the deadline, you refine things and see which way things go and injuries make decisions as we have more information.”
TSN: Darren Dreger said that though the Penguins have had contract discussions with Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, he’s not sure that you can call the contract negotiations at this point.
“I don’t believe that there’s going to be much of a stalling process with Letang or Malkin. The Penguins have been talking to the Letang camp now for a while and Malkin, again, just based on entry-level discussions over the last couple of weeks. But they do have to hammer out term and money. But obviously both players and the organization want to keep the family intact.”
