Extending Malkin a priority
Rob Rossi of The Athletic: Team sources have said that one of the top priorities for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ next GM this offseason would be to sign Evgeni Malkin to a contract extension.
Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle want both Malkin and Sidney Crosby to retire as a Penguins.
A league source said they want to retire as a Penguins but are also “watching to see how all this plays out.”
Not being able to trade a star player not a reason to resign
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The rumors that Pittsburgh Penguins Jim Rutherford resigned over feuding with Mike Sullivan, that he wanted to trade Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang but owner Mario Lemieux wouldn’t let him aren’t true.
If he wanted to Malkin, Malkin would need to approve the deal and it likely would have been leaked, like the last time they kicked tires on the idea. It’s also certainly not a reason for Rutherford to quit.
There was something that Rutherford didn’t like that was going on within the organization. Rutherford said on the radio that the idea of him resigning over not being able to trade a star player was “farfetched.”
During the 2019 offseason, the Florida Panthers offered a ‘hefty package’ to the Penguins for Malkin.
Penguins GM search
Rob Rossi of The Athletic: Multiple sources have said that the Pittsburgh Penguins could hire a new GM within a month. They’ve already heard from at least 20 people interested.
Interim GM Patrik Allvin will be the first person to interview for the position.
An early list of candidates and their current position:
Chris Drury – New York Rangers assistant GM
John Ferguson Jr – Director of player personnel for the Boston Bruins
Ron Hextall – Los Angeles Kings advisor
Chris MacFarland – Colorado Avalanche assistant GM
Scott Mellanby – Montreal Canadiens assistant GM
A team source said that if Tom Fitzgerald wasn’t under contract with the New Jersey Devils (until June), he would probably be the GM by Monday.
A league source added: “If it’s April, the Penguins don’t have a GM and the Devils haven’t announced an extension for Tom — hey, 1 plus 1 still equals 2. If you ask me, he’s the perfect fit. But he has a job.”
A team would need to give the Penguins permission to speak with anyone under contract and sources don’t expect the Rangers to give the Penguins permission to speak with Drury.
The Kings have given the Penguins permission to speak with Hextall.
Other candidates could include Jason Botterill, Peter Chiarelli, and Mathieu Darche.