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Penguins Clean Out: Sources on Malkin Talks; UFAs; Karlsson is Cryptic
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- Penguins Clean Out: Sources on Malkin Talks; UFAs; Karlsson is Cryptic
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
CRANBERRY TWP., Pa. —The season is over and the Pittsburgh Penguins were left with nothing else but to begin exit interviews, clean out their equipment, speak to the media on their way out the door, and generally ponder the mysteries of the universe, including the still unanswered question of how they let themselves get into a 3-0 series hole and lose to the Philadelphia Flyers in Round One.
Out of the gates Friday, Evgeni Malkin , 39, dropped the bombshell of the day when he deadpanned that indeed he would play for another team if the Penguins choose not to re-sign him. Malkin rarely speaks on clean out day, but he was front and center Friday as the media entered the Penguins' room.
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After all, last season, Malkin declined to speak after the final game, but instead promised a few media members that he would speak on clean out day.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow!" he yelled back then in his thick Russian accent, but never fulfilled the promise.
Friday was much different and quite possibly the last time we speak with Malkin as a member of the Penguins. Over the course of the season, his position on his future has grown from a wait-and-see approach, to wanting to play, to waiting to speak with general manager Kyle Dubas about a new deal, to publicly needling Dubas over the lack thereof, to now stating he will play elsewhere if not signed.
"Yes," Malkin said flatly when asked if he would play elsewhere.
Malkin indicated in his media scrum that he and Dubas would soon discuss his future. Sources told Pittsburgh Hockey Now that conversations between Malkin and the organization are expected in a couple of days, after Dubas finishes exit interviews.
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Malkin alluded to such talks during his public media scrum, but without specifics. However, if Dubas has reached a decision, sources gave no such hints as to the outcome when the conversations go down.
Among the much lesser news, Sidney Crosby is healthy and will not have any surgeries or cleanups, but goaltender Arturs Silovs , whose litany of 10-bell saves in Games 4, 5, and 6 kept the Penguins in the series, is not.
"Also, we'll see (If I play at the World Championships). I'm gonna do MRI on my knee and see how it goes," said Silovs.
"It's been like, probably three or four weeks (that it has been bothering me). So, I tried to play it through it."
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Silovs, 25, is a restricted free agent and completed his first full season in the NHL. Silovs started 39 games with a 19-12-8 record, and an .888 save percentage. He backstopped the Penguins to wins in Games 4 and 5 of the Round One series with plenty of difficult saves.
More UFAs
Two of the three members of the Penguins' energetic identity-creating fourth line will be unrestricted free agents as of July 1. Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar sort of shrugged off questions about their future because they don't know.
"That's between my agent and Kyle," Dewar said.
It would seem Dubas has not yet opened conversations with free agents.
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"Yeah, I would love to stay. You know, it's a great organization, great people, and a great area to be with your family," Acciari said. "Yeah, we'd love to stay.
"(No discussions), Not yet. I mean, I think it was kind of well known that everything was going to wait till after the season. So, you know, take it day by day."
Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea might be first in line after the team voted him the top defensive player, and he well outplayed his two-year, $1.8 million contract. He anchored the second and third pairings this season, and finally arrived in the NHL after three years of toiling in the Dallas Stars organization, and a couple more being used sparingly in the Penguins lineup.
At the start of the season, Penguins coach Dan Muse quickly thrust Shea into heavy minutes on the second pairing with Kris Letang . Shea was a mainstay in the lineup this season, but he too will be a UFA.
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"No, not really (I haven't had any communications, yet). I've been more focused on the hockey, which, honestly, that was kind of my mindset because I don't like too many things going on in my mind," said Shea. "Hockey started picking up, and playoff hockey start started–So it was a kind of just wait until the summer thing, after the trade deadline. So yeah, I'll wait. I'll wait until I hear from them, or whatever their direction is, and either way, my time is but Pittsburgh has been nothing but great, and I'm happy for every second of it."
Erik Karlsson
The Penguins defenseman is a beaut. Perhaps for his own amusement, or perhaps to obscure a truth, Karlsson played a cat-and-mouse game with the media, and did so with that wry smile he gives just before he delivers a headline quote.
In media appearances this season, Dubas has included Karlsson in the small group of three players whom he wants to keep on the team to be around the young players. Sidney Crosby and Bryan are the others. In such a case, Karlsson could add mentor to his list of roles, but in his answer, he artfully dodged and then flung open the doors of speculation in what comes next for him.
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"I think (being a mentor) just comes with it. As you progress and get older in this league, you kind of put that in (your) bucket. I still like to take myself as a guy that still hasn't accomplished what I set out to do, and I still have a lot of drive in me," said Karlsson. "And at the same time, hopefully, you can find ways to bring other guys with you and and hopefully they take just the good things from you and not the bad.
"So obviously, I think this year was a very positive thing for a lot of reasons, and no matter what happens in the future–the same as Geno–no matter what happens to me, I think I'll be fine and I'll land on my feet. But I've enjoyed everything so far since I came to Pittsburgh, and I'm hoping that I get to enjoy it more."
Karlsson sort of laughed after his media scrum when PHN specifically called him out in good humor for the cryptic response. Humor aside, Karlsson's divergent answer is just a little something to watch. The defenseman allowed a trade to the Penguins in order to win a Stanley Cup, and turned 35 years old this season.
Karlsson has one year remaining on his contract, and maybe his Cheshire cat response was merely to keep everyone on their toes.
The post Penguins Clean Out: Sources on Malkin Talks; UFAs; Karlsson is Cryptic appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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