PITTSBURGH (AP) â Ron Hextall doesnât sound like someone whoâs ready to hit the reset button.
The Pittsburgh Penguins general manager said Wednesday he believes in the teamâs core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and is in no hurry to move on to the franchiseâs next chapter.
The East Division champions are smarting from a third straight first-round playoff exit â this time a six-game loss to the New York Islanders â but Hextall will spend his first offseason with the team retooling around Crosby, Malkin and Letang rather than rebuilding.
âWe see a future with this core,â Hextall said. âThese guys have been here a long time. We had a good year. It certainly didnât give me pause to think about what we should do with this core. It certainly didnât give me pause to think about what we should do with this core.â
Hextall added he expects to have all three back next season âfor sure.â The same apparently goes for goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Hextall, hired in February after Jim Rutherfordâs abrupt resignation, expressed confidence in Jarry despite Jarryâs shaky playoff performance. Jarryâs ill-advised outlet pass in Game 5 led directly to Josh Baileyâs game-winning overtime goal. He followed it up by allowing five goals in Game 6 as Pittsburghâs season came to an abrupt halt.
âYou saw what happened in Game 5, an unfortunate error there. And then Game 6 wasnât the best. But I donât think we would have been where we were without Tristan and we all have to remember Tristan is a young player,â he said. âHeâs going to learn from this and heâs going to come back better in September.â
As will coach Mike Sullivan. Hextall said he and president of hockey operations Brian Burke are in sync with the two-time Stanley Cup winner. Sullivan emphasizes speed and skill in his approach, something Hextall doesnât plan to get away from while allowing the Penguins might benefit a bit from a bigger lineup.
âOf course weâd like to add a little bit of size, a little bit of toughness. Yes, it would be nice,â Hextall said. âBut thereâs not a lot out there. Weâll look at whatâs there this summer and weâll make adjustments. But if we go into next season with this group weâre comfortable.â
That includes focusing on players who can make an immediate impact with Crosby, Malkin and Letang all in their mid-30s. Hextall stressed the team remains in âwin-nowâ mode heading into 2021-22. Pittsburghâs streak of 15 consecutive postseason berths is the longest active streak in major North American professional sports.
âWeâre comfortable with our team,â Hextall said. âWe had a real good regular season and played well in the playoffs. That doesnât mean we wonât look to get better. You always look to get better. If we can find ways to tweak things and get better, we will.â