Brian Burke: Penguins “have to make some trades”

It's been a relatively quiet first month on the job for Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall and President Brian Burke, but Burke is now hitting the airwaves to talk about his team and the changes that come between now and the April 12th NHL trade deadline.

On a recent appearance on Drinks with Binks with Julie Stewart-Binks, Burke admitted that he and Hextall are planning on making some trades, but that they aren't interested in giving up longtime Penguins Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

Check it out:

“That’s the goal, to see if we can add this year. See how far we can get with the group. Yes, the team is getting older. The stars are getting older. But since I’ve been here, they’ve all been excellent,” Burke said. “There’s not a drop-off in play–maybe from 100-point seasons, there is. But there’s been no dropoff, and I put Kris Letang in there too because he’s been unbelievable lately.”

“…We’ve still got three main pieces on the chessboard. Our goaltending has been spectacular since I got here. The guys are getting the job done really well,” Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke concluded. “So, we’ve got to see if we can add to this group without forfeiting futures. People say — How do you do that? You have to make some trades probably. But we’ll see if we can do it. We’ll look at some free agents. We’ll have to make some tough decisions. Ownership gets that.”

Got it... so you want to add to your team without forfeiting future assets? Gotta give to get, Burkie... you know that better than anyone. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Burke and Hextall head into the trade deadline with aa very aggressive plan to add some big pieces to this team's lineup. The fact of the matter is that Crosby, Malkin and Letang only have so many more kicks at the can and a Penguins' playoff run is no longer the given that it used to be. This team will absolutely need some bolstering if they're going to go on another long Stanley Cup run and, frankly, I think there's no one better to pull off a big deal than Burke himself. Giddy up!