MONTREAL — If all goes as planned, Ron Hextall will return from the NHL Draft in Montreal with several shiny, new prospects — and at least one more piece of the core intact.
The Penguins general manager told reporters on Wednesday evening he believes a contract extension for defenseman Kris Letang will be finalized “real soon.”
“I'd be surprised if we don't get Kris done,” Hextall said.
The Penguins entered a potentially pivotal offseason with arguably three of their top five players set to become unrestricted free agents, as Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust all saw their contracts expire.
On May 22, Hextall crossed off one objective when he inked winger Bryan Rust to a six-year extension carrying a $5.125 million average annual value. From there, the focus pivoted to Sidney Crosby’s longtime teammates, Letang and Malkin.
Dating all the way back to the 2021 offseason, Hextall has said repeatedly he’d like to extend both Stanley Cup-winning veterans in order to keep the core intact. As recently as this offseason, Hextall said “in a perfect world,” he’d like to see Letang and Malkin retire as Penguins.
But saying you want to get a deal done and actually putting pen to paper are two different things.
Now, with free agency set to open on July 13, time is ticking. While Hextall is optimistic about Letang, it appears things remain murkier on the Malkin front.
When Hextall was asked if he’s confident he’ll get something done with Malkin, the GM replied, “I can't say that. I don't know that. We're still working. I spoke with him as recently as last night [Tuesday night]. We'll see where it goes.”
Letang, who just finished an eight-year deal that carried a $7.25 million average annual value, has said publicly he would like to play about five more years. Whether he gets that term remains to be seen, as term figures to be one of the more significant sticking points for a player with one more shot at a big payday.
The defenseman stepped to the negotiating table at a position of strength. His contract year turned into a career year — at least in some ways — as the offensively minded blueliner racked up a career-best 68 points.
Even if his 35-year-old age might give the team some pause, Letang’s elite fitness level has allowed him to continue to play significant minutes at critical junctures. During the 2021-22 season, only three defensemen accumulated more average time on ice than Letang’s 25:47, as he showed few signs of age or wear.
Beyond what Letang brings, the fact he’s one of the hardest-to-replace players on the roster had to factor into the decision. One could argue the right side of the Penguins blue line may be the club’s thinnest position group.
At one point, young right-shot defenseman John Marino appeared headed for a role on the top pairing and top power play. However, he has not continued on that same trajectory, especially offensively. Further down the depth chart, Chad Ruhwedel played admirably this season, but asking him to be more than a third-pairing guy might extend him more than would be preferred.
For those reasons, the Penguins don’t have anything close to a replacement in house for Letang if he were to pursue a more lucrative contract on the free market, such as his hometown of Montreal (where his agent is now the GM) or Vancouver (where former Penguins GM Jim Rutherford has a comfort level and cap space to pay a big blue-line target).
Once the Letang deal comes together, the focus will naturally shift to Malkin, whose value is a bit harder to pinpoint.
Throughout his 16-year career, Malkin has assembled an impressive trophy case that includes the Hart, the Conn Smythe and two Art Ross trophies. Even last year, he produced on a 40-goal pace during a shortened season. On the flip side, his skating legs weren’t always there after an offseason ACL surgery, and coach Mike Sullivan admitted at the end of the year Malkin’s 5-on-5 play was “sporadic.”
Asked what the biggest sticking point is in negotiations, Hextall reiterated his common refrain that he doesn’t negotiate in the media.
“We’re going to continue to work with his representatives and hopefully get Geno under contract,” Hextall said.
After inking backup goalie Casey DeSmith to a two-year extension carrying a $1.8 million average annual value, the Penguins now have about $21.4 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly. One can speculate Letang will eat up about $8 million to $9 million of that.
Hextall said that decision in net was dictated in part due to the limited free agent options and DeSmith’s performance.
“You look at the market; there's not a lot out there,” Hextall said. “You look at Casey; he's a pretty good goalie. He's played very well for us. He's well liked, and he fits in well. It's kind of a bit of a no-brainer for us.”
The part Hextall didn’t include was DeSmith’s $1.8 million salary is a bit of a bargain, as well. By allocating only $5.3 million of the NHL salary to DeSmith and starter Tristan Jarry, the cap-constrained Penguins can instead spend outside the crease.
Once Letang is signed, the Penguins will still only have nine forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies inked, so tough decisions remain. Time will tell if Malkin fits the budget.
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo.
First Published: July 6, 2022, 9:19 p.m.
Updated: July 7, 2022, 10:25 a.m.