After the Brock McGinn, Evan Rodrigues and Dominik Simon signings yesterday Ron Hextall addressed the media so I’m going to go through some of his comments and give some of my thoughts on them, but first let’s look at some of the other signings the Penguins have made.
First, the Penguins made a really great move signing Filiip Lindberg. He was the starting goaltender for UMASS who won a national title this year. I actually wrote about him a few weeks back as a goaltender to target. This signing has no risk and has potential for legitimate upside. The Penguins basically got a first round caliber player at the goaltender position without having a first round pick or using a first round pick on the position. Very good!
NEW: Finding a new goalie: Filip Lindberg https://t.co/1m3y6LjhyJ pic.twitter.com/i0Vqwcw0cM
— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) June 23, 2021
he's better than any goalie they have on the roster https://t.co/jYrBldWl6c
— 🦖 ryan lambert 🦕 (@twolinepass) July 28, 2021
I’ll say what I did a month ago. If Lindberg has an impressive camp and gains traction in the AHL quickly you could see a situation where he might make the NHL sooner than later given the current goaltending situation. I know a lot of people think you need to let goaltenders gain professional experience and it takes time for them to develop yada yada yada. If a player is ready they are ready. I think a lot of teams wait too long to play younger goaltenders. I’m not guaranteeing Lindberg will pan out, but if his professional stats are good there’s no reason to wait until he’s 25 or whatever.
The Penguins also signed Michael Chaput and Taylor Fedun to two-way contracts. These are organizational depth signings. Somebody has to play in WB/S and there’s no issues filling it out with some veterans when the Penguins don’t have as many prospects as other organizations.
OK on to the Ron Hextall comments.
Ron Hextall on Brock McGinn: "He plays a real inside game. Got really good energy, physical player. He plays the same way every night. We really valued the player, but we also valued the intangibles he brings on a nightly basis and into the locker room."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) July 28, 2021
So the intangibles talk is what it is, but I can’t help but think there’s this guy named Marc-Andre Fleury who oozes intangibles sitting right over there so if intangibles were really that important why wouldn’t you get the ultimate intangibles personality? Speaking of Marc-Andre Fleury
When asked if he had any comment about the Marc-Andre Fleury trade, Hextall said, "No, I don't have a lot. I think Marc-Andre has been a terrific goalie for a long, long time. I've got the ultimate respect for him, and obviously people around here speak very highly of him."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) July 28, 2021
I don’t think Ron Hextall is the type to tip his hand as blatantly as Rutherford, but this doesn’t sound like a guy who is in the process of trying to acquire Fleury.
Just heard from a reliable source that the #Pens are not looking to acquire Marc-Andre Fleury. Not part of their plans at the moment. Carry on.
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) July 27, 2021
Buckle up for this one
#Pens Hextall: Jarry and DeSmith did a good job for us last year. We anticipate them both being back.
— Josh Getzoff (@PensJG) July 28, 2021
All I can say is he better be bluffing, but if you haven’t noticed the lion’s share of goaltenders who were available have already moved on and found new teams. It is looking like Marc-Andre Fleury or bust out there.
Ron Hextall: "We don't have a lot of cap space. We would like to tweak some things and we're going to continue to monitor the free agent market. I was a little surprised at how the day went today with the flat cap and poor financial year."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) July 28, 2021
Yeah, that’s the reality of going shopping in unrestricted free agency. You have to overpay. The Penguins overpaid for Brock McGinn and now they don’t have what little buying power they had before the signing. The offseason isn’t over. There could still be cost cutting trades, but the options aren’t going to be as plentiful and probably not as good as time marches on. Oh and Brandon Saad isn’t an option anymore. He got a very reasonable UFA contract the Penguins should have given him
#stlblues announce 5-year, $22.5 million deal for Saad ($4.5 million AAV).
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) July 29, 2021
Very Saad! And also infuriating the Penguins couldn’t find a way to make it work.
Ron Hextall on the status of restricted free agents Zach Aston-Reese and Radim Zohorna: "Zohorna, I would expect to get done in the next little while. I anticipate getting something done with Zach in the near future hopefully as well."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) July 28, 2021
Between the two of them it will probably be around 2.5M or so. The Penguins only have 3.6M in cap at the moment. They are in a holding pattern until a trade is made. This offseason is moving fast and the Penguins are being left behind at the moment.
Hextall was asked today when discussions would resume with Malkin, Letang and Rust. "We'll get to those in August here. Figure out a plan and we'll get to those. So I would anticipate in the next little while." https://t.co/CLO3WVJG73
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) July 28, 2021
If the plan is to re-sign them with the intent of competing that ship may have unfortunately sailed on already based on how things are going. I am in the camp of signing both Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and letting them play out their careers in Pittsburgh even if the Stanley Cup isn’t within reach. There will be time for a full rebuild shortly down the road.
To this point I have been very underwhelmed with the Penguins offseason. The only bright spot is Filip Lindberg and that is no guarantee. The Penguins are on a path to go out with a whimper in this era. It’s a shame really.
Thanks for reading!