Penguins General Manager Ron Hextall faced the media today and doubled down that he made a commitment to the “core” and is still looking to add the deadline, albeit for this year and beyond.

“Our intent is to continue to make this team better To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Hextall, though, continues to tip his hand that he doesn’t plan to spend big assets on rentals, again touting his desire that if it’s a big move, it will be for a player with term. That’s far from breaking news.

In the immediate, a lot of the Penguins focus has been on the bottom-6 and adding a defenseman.

That’s where the Penguins focus is for now……

On Upgrading the bottom-6?

“We’re trying to find pieces that would fit,” said Hextall, adding his usual talking point “we are in a tight cap situation.”

— Among the biggest talking points is the significant dip in play from Jeff Carter, which for a player his age could come at any point. One growing theme, though, is the organization doesn’t have the same gloom and doom feeling about Carter that so many others do.

I’ve consistently heard they feel he’s been more effective than the analytics say and some feel too much has been put on his plate. That’s a notion coming from scouts to who sense he can still be effective in certain spots if his ice starts getting managed properly. Management in particular has strongly felt Carter can be more impactful on the wing full-time.

“I think Jeff has done some good To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

At the end of the day, little was learned from Hextall’s media session and eerily similar to what he had to say at his presser out of the All-Star break.

MORE BUZZ

— The Penguins today placed Kasperi Kapanen on waivers and the biggest head scratchers of all was the 2 year, $6.4 million contract the team gave Kapanen after his poor 2021-2022 season. Ron Hextall address the media today and claimed the team basically bet on a bounce back year for Kapanen. Going one year @ $3.2 million would have seen a possible market for Kapanen. The two years made him untradeable this close to the deadline unless Pittsburgh was willing to attach draft pick compensation to the deal. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Hextall To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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