Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins have fired President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, GM Ron Hextall and AGM Chris Pryor.
Questions for the Pittsburgh Penguins this offseason
Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Questions facing the Pittsburgh Penguins this season after they missed the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
1. What will happen with GM Ron Hextall? The new ownership group spent this season basically evaluating the operations. They saw that issues entering this season, goaltending and depth, weren’t addressed in the offseason and at the deadline. Will Hextall get another chance? It would be a surprise if he does.
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2. What about head coach Mike Sullivan? He’s under contract through 2026-27 after signing an extension last offseason.
3. Will Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang be traded? They aren’t going anywhere.
4. Is goaltender Tristan Jarry going to be back? That could be up to the potential new GM. Goaltending has been an issue for the Penguins for the past four seasons. The free agent market isn’t the greatest.
5. Who else will be a free agent? They have just over $20 million in projected cap space to re-sign free agents and fill holes. Brian Dumoulin is likely gone and the same with Jason Zucker unless they can find some extra cap space.
6. Can they move a big contract? They gave up a second-round pick for Mikael Granlund at the deadline and it may cost that to move his $5 million cap hit. Jeff Petry might interest some but he has a partial no-trade. Jeff Carter ($3.1 million) has a full no-trade clause on a 35-plus contract.
Rob Rossi of The Athletic: The Pittsburgh Penguins got older, lack depth up front and on the blue line, and had a team save percentage of .898.
GM Ron Hextall has a year left on his contract but there is no guarantee that he’ll be running the team. With five years left on his contract, can see ownership wanting to pay Mike Sullivan for that long to not coach.
The Penguins have 15 players under contract at just over $63 million. Their top UFAs are Tristan Jarry, Jason Zucker and Brian Dumoulin.
Contracts limiting the Penguins on what they can do include Jeff Carter (one year, $3.25 million), Mikael Granlund two years at $5 million per) and Jeff Petry (two years at $6.25 million per).
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Keys to the offseason for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton of ESPN: The Penguins need to retool their roster this offeason.
They lacked scoring depth and their top-four defensemen were inconsistent. They could use some new blood on defense.
Their top priority should be trying to move some of the veterans that won’t be part of their long-term plans.
Goaltending will be another area that needs addressing. Tristan Jarry is a UFA and Casey DeSmith has a year left on his deal. DeSmith can be an okay backup but they’ll need to make a decision on who will be their starter?
