Penguins/NHL
Post-Series Buzz
Today is close out day for the Penguins and of course it’s going as expected with a lot of ‘we’re a great team, Tristan Jarry is a great goalie, bad puck luck, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang deserve to finish their careers together and so on’…..
Among the Talking Points out of the zoom sessions:
Kris Letang took the expected route in touting that he wants to finish his career in Pittsburgh.
“Me, Geno and Sid want to finish as Penguins,” said Kris Letang. “We truly believe in ourselves. We think we have a lot to offer.”
Letang’s long-time No. 1 d-partner Brian Dumoulin echoed similar sentiments:
“They [Crosby/Malkin/Letang] are the ones that established the winning culture we have here,” said Dumoulin.
A third straight first round exit, Letang claimed the Penguins had a ‘great year’
“I don’t think you can say we didn’t have a great year,” said Letang. “We faced a great opponent and we carried the play most of the series. “I strongly believe in this core of players.”
Added Brandon Tanev:
“We have a great team and all thought we were going on a deep run here,” said Tanev…..We all felt we had a great chance to make a long run, the puck just wasn’t bouncing our way.”
— Is Todd Reirden’s stock rising as a head coaching candidate?
“It was great to have Todd back behind the bench,” said Letang. “I thought it really helped my game. The defensive corps did a lot of great things.”
–Tristan Jarry is “Unbelievable”–
On Tristan Jarry, Letang and others toed the company line….
“I truly believe he’s a No. 1 goaltender that did the job for us all year long. I truly believe we have a great goaltender,” said Letang.
“Tristan is an unbelievable goalie,” Bryan Rust added.
Mike Matheson also doubled down on Jarry.
“I think he’s one of the best goalies in the league,” said Matheson.
Players praise Mike Sullivan
— Multiple Players were asked about Mike Sullivan and the responses were also as expected:
“I think Sully is a great coach,” said Brandon Tanev. He does a great job with this group. We are lucky to have him in Pittsburgh.”
Kasperi Kapanen who didn’t get off to great start with Mike Sullivan was also singing the praises of Sullivan.
“He’s a great coach,” said Kapanen. He’s done a tremendous job with everyone here.”
Will New Regime be all-in on Bryan Rust?
A key decision for the new brass will be whether to sign Bryan Rust to a long-term extension or not. Rust has established himself as a 5+ million a year player and is held in high regard by the new regime, sources say. But, Brian Burke is not a believer in dishing out significant term on contracts.
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— Two Players with eye catching quotes —
Two players who talked in reality were two specific players whose names will be out in trade rumors this summer:
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