Penguins reveal new mandate and IF Crosby and Malkin fit into it

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins named Ron Hextall as general manager and Brian Burke as president of hockey operations. Hextall will report to Burke as his primary adviser.

There is only one goal placed on the table by Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle as Burke explained on the ice of Tim and Sid on Sportsnet: “They want another parade.” 

Ultimately, the Penguins would love to clinch another championship with an aging core of superstars in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Hextall, who is used to rebuilding process to get a team back on train, will need to changes his ways. 

“I know I was looked at as a builder … but I’m not a one-trick pony,” Hextall said.

This could have reassured fans in Pittsburgh after chatter got louder that the Penguins might ask Crosby, Malkin and Letang to join the conversation in the front office to see if they are interested in taking part in the pending major changes.  Crosby could be asked if he wants to take part in a team rebuild or if he would prefer to chase a Stanley Cup elsewhere.  This would be a tough blow for the Penguins, who basically won the lottery back in 2005 when they come out on top of the draft order and were given Crosby as the strongest rebuilding tool. Now that he’s been the face of the franchise for 16 seasons, it would be so weird to see him wear the colours of a different NHL club. However, if he looks to win another Stanley Cup before hanging up the skates he might not get a choice. 

While for now the Penguins are focused on guiding Hextall and Burke to get another Stanley Cup run with their captain and this core, the new GM couldn’t say anything more when asked about the immediate futures of Crosby and Co. in Pittsburgh.

“I can’t tell you what’s coming our way. I can’t,” Hextall said. “To be definitive in a direction … in my interviews, there were different ideas, we talked about all kinds of scenarios, but those are not ones I’m open to discussing right now.”

This is how Darren Dreger explained it on last night’s Insider Trading on TSN: 

“It depends on the conversations they have to have with Crosby, to some degree Malkin, and maybe Kris Letang fits into that conversation as well. They have to examine the current roster; what are the holes in this lineup? How confident are Hextall and Burke that they’re going to be able to plug those holes to make the Penguins a true Stanley Cup contender? Again, many believe the window is closing; they have to have that conversation. I’m sure it will happen in the short term and then perhaps again in the off-season looking forward.”

With Burke revealing the ultimate goal for the Penguins, it would be hard to imagine Crosby not wanting to take part in this endeavour. However, what if Hextall and Burke don’t succeed in the coming years… What then?