Players Speak At Locker Room Clean Out + My Thoughts (Penguins)

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Players Speak At Locker Room Clean Out + My Thoughts

By Ryan Wilson

Apr 27, 2015 • 4:00 am

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Players Speak At Locker Room Clean Out + My Thoughts

Today is locker room cleanout day for the Penguins. Some players took the time to speak with the media. Here are some of the players’ responses:

All quotes unless otherwise noted are courtesy of Wes Crosby

Bennett says his goal is to be more consistent next season

Bennett says he still considers himself a top-six quality forward

Bennett: "Not once have I doubted my ability."

Beau Bennett will have to do a better job next year and I believe he will. It isn't lost on him that this year was not good enough. He is an RFA with minimal leverage. He will be back. He should be back. It would be foolish to do anything else. The Penguins need players on low cap hits that can provide minutes and Bennett will do just that after a proper summer of training.

Cole: "Our goal was to win a Stanley Cup ... That doesn't change that still being the goal for next season

Cole says it was hard to play without the injured players, but that can't be an excuse. My time here was great. I don't think you can ask for a better room." Wants to be back

Ian Cole is an RFA and I don't see any issues with the Penguins bringing him back into the fold. He would be a very good bottom pairing defensemen for the Penguins.

Winnik says he also wants to be back. Has not had any talks yet

Winnik had a bad playoff but that was a five game sample. I'll trust his overall body of work. He is an effective bottom six player and shouldn't command a lot of money. The Penguins should at least attempt to keep Winnik around.

Comeau on if he'll be back: "I hope so."

Blake Comeau will have to leave money on the table for any contract extension to make sense for Pittsburgh. Comeau was a product of player usage this year, specifically being with Evgeni Malkin. Signing Comeau for 700k was great, signing him in a ~2.0-3.0M range would be misguided and would be the kind of contract that causes big cap issues. I would give a low ball offer and if he chose to move on that would be OK too.

Ehrhoff says he's still dealing with a concussion. Started getting better, then had a setback.

Ehrhoff says he has no concerns regarding his long-term future.

Ehrhoff says he has interest in returning to Pittsburgh, but has had no talks

The one year contract Christian Ehrhoff signed with Pittsburgh did not go to plan for either player or team. Injuries ruined what could have been a good season. I would not give Ehrhoff any term in a new deal but he could certainly find another team that would. It is likely that both player and team will go their separate ways. There are other defense options out there that I will go into detail about in the future. However, if Ehrhoff was willing to sign another deal similar to the one he did this past summer (one or two year deal) that would be a no brainer for the Penguins.

Maatta says he is a couple weeks away from skating

Maatta: "I'll be ready for next year, for sure."

Maatta: "I hope I have nothing but good luck left in me."

It will be great to Maatta back into the lineup. I still can't believe the unfortunate string of health related things he went through this past year.

Letang says he is not concerned about his long-term future

Head injuries are a serious thing and he has a history of them. I am glad to hear he is confident about his health in the future but I liken this situation to driving a car. It's not always you that causes the accident. You can't control the other variables out there. There is always the potential of another Shane Doan type hit because the league fails its players on the safety front year after year. Since Kris Letang is a player that always has the puck the likelihood of being hit increases.

When I got traded here, it was a big boost. I was really excited. And still am extremely excited to be here. I think we could tell with the way it started for me personally, but then kind of faded off a little bit. So I really need a big summer of training to get back to the level I think I can be.

I wasn't too hard on David Perron's play because I had a feeling that he was hurt. That assumption turned out to be correct. I still believe that the Penguins made a good deal to get Perron from Edmonton. He is a good player and will be a positive impact player in the Penguins top six in 2015-16.

Dupuis: "I still thought maybe, in the back of my mind, I could come back in the Stanley Cup Final."

This is great news that his recovery is going to plan. Getting Dupuis back next year will be a huge boost to the forward depth. Some scoff at his cap hit but you could do worse in getting value from a player.

A dollar over the league minimum is a dollar too much. These kind of players are a dime a dozen and very replaceable. The Penguins should be focused on retaining players who can play at even-strength. Lapierre does not fit this bill, emotion or not.

Crosby: "It's tough predict who's going to stay and who's going to leave ... but we have a pretty good core group here."

Crosby was complimentary of the coaching staff. Said they handled adversity well.

For the record, Crosby says he's not going anywhere either

Much like I said in the summer the whole “will Crosby and Malkin buy into what the junior coach has to say… narrative was nonsense.

Notice the usage of core group. This is a common theme coming from both coach (as you will see) and GM. The team understands they have all the hard to acquire parts of the roster.

Johnston: "Up until Christmas, I thought we were rolling on all cylinders."

Johnston said the turning point was March 14 vs Boston. Crosby did not play, Malkin got hurt, Hornqvist went out soon after

Johnston: "I know there's always speculation at our level ... but it really does never enter your mind.

Johnston: "There is room for improvement, for sure. Do we have the core pieces? ... We have the core pieces."

Johnston says Pouliot would have played in Game 6 tonight

I think Coach Johnston did a really good job for the Penguins and should definitely be back next year. The fact of the matter is that 100% of the coaches around the league make personnel choices that are spotty, even the great Mike Babcock. Not all coaches have solid X’s and O’s game plan that fit nicely for the skill set of their team. The Penguins were an excellent defensive team this year and when all the defensemen were in the lineup they generated healthy amounts of offense as well. I really liked the job he did in his first NHL season.

The Penguins were criticized for their coaching search but ultimately ended up getting a quality man for the job.

Again, you see the core being referenced.

More Malkin quotes from Wes Crosby:

Malkin said he still wants to spend his entire career in Pittsburgh. #Pens

Malkin said he enjoys playing under Johnston, because he always remains positive

Malkin cited Johnston meeting him in Russia last offseason as an example of why he likes him

Malkin said he loves Pittsburgh. Has a house here. His parents like it here

Same as it ever was. Evgeni Malkin is and always will be a Penguin. If you want to waste your time with the other BS out there just know that is exactly what it is.

Thanks for reading!

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