Penguins GM Comments on Future of Letang & Malkin

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall has been busy already this offseason as he convinced forward Bryan Rust to accept less money to stick around. Now the real work begins as Hextall needs to get Penguin legends Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin to sign extensions, and in a perfect world, they would accept a home-town discount. 

Hextall recently met with the media and was candid as ever with the insight he provided into the Penguins vision this offseason. Here's what Pittsburgh's GM had to say about the tall task this summer:

In a perfect world (Malkin) retires a Penguin. And I think Tanger's the same. They’re both great athletes. They both have been here a long time. They’re both performing at a high level right now. We’d certainly like to have them in the mix come September. Everything is good, (Fenway Sports Group is) totally committed to winning. ... We’ve got some things that we’re looking at in terms of adding to staff and stuff. We’re moving along.

There had been some reports out of Sports Illustrated stating Hextall's job was on thin ice, but if their willing to let him spend 10's of millions to re-sign Rust, it's not likely he'll soon be shown the door. 

There's also been reports that Letang and Malkin were provided extension offers earlier in the season at three years, $5 million annually, but those reports have been shot down by multiple hockey insiders. Letang is likely to hover around $7.5 million per season, meanwhile Malkin likely $6.5-7. 

If the Penguins don't get these two signed before July 13 when free agency begins, the sense of panic is going to be extreme for their fan base. Interesting times in Pittsburgh to say the very least.

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