Pens Points: Waiting Game

With the Bryan Rust extension in the books and Ron Hextall’s post season press conference come and gone, Pittsburgh Penguins fans can only sit and wait for news to leak out regarding any other pending free agents, most notably Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. While nothing seems imminent at the moment, the Rust signing proves just how quickly things can change.

Head into midweek with Pens Points...

One way or another, the Penguins are going to look a lot different next season. Whether Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang are on the roster, the Penguins should be in for a youth infusion as players graduate from the AHL to the NHL. [Pensburgh]

Less than 48 hours after agreeing to term on a six-year deal, forward Bryan Rust spoke to the media about his decision to remain in Pittsburgh. Rust also talked about his upcoming offseason and the future of a few notable teammates. [Trib Live]

One of the lesser discussed aspects of Ron Hextall’s press conference on Monday were his comments on Jacob Trouba. Hextall seems to firmly believe there was ill intent behind Trouba’s actions that should have been punished by the league. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Before the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to breakthrough and go on this Stanley Cup run, they were underachievers who could never quite take the next step. One of the reasons for that was the Penguins ruining a potential party back in 2016. [Pensburgh]

Numerous injuries have likely cost Penguins prospect Justin Almeida any real shot at becoming an NHL player, but he did find his groove with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL this season and received a pair of callups to the AHL. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL,,,

Coaching vacancies have been popping up around the NHL and teams are looking to fill them sooner rather than later. One of those openings is with the Philadelphia Flyers who are confirmed to have interviewed John Tortorella for the position. [NHL]