It’s been increasingly obvious that the Pittsburgh Penguins fan base is not happy with what general manager Ron Hextall has done this season.
Hextall played the waiting game for far too long and it may have turned around to bite him as the moves he made haven’t done much to help the Penguins.
Even before the season started, Hextall made some questionable calls when it came to the construction of the roster.
During the 2021-22 season, Hextall gave Jeff Carter a contract extension that takes him through next year; Kasperi Kapanen was given a new deal despite vastly underperforming; Casey DeSmith was brought back to backup an injury-prone Tristan Jarry.
Sure, Hextall made sure to re-sign Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, but how happy are they to be on this team right now?
Not that they long for days where they play in a new city, but Malkin, Letang, and Sidney Crosby can’t be happy with how their team has been put together.
At advanced ages, those three are putting up outstanding seasons, that if they had a better supporting cast, they wouldn’t be in a dog fight for a wild card spot.
For the first time in a long time, Crosby and Malkin have played fully-healthy seasons and Letang has battled through a lot to still be the highest scoring defender on the team.
Crosby and Malkin are both over a point-per-game and are the Penguins’ main one-two punch yet again.
Josh Yohe of the Athletic joined the Jeff Marek Show and mentioned that the core players are smart guys and know the Penguins have many flaws.
It’s visible that Crosby, Malkin, and Letang are aware of the problems and are doing everything they can to win games on their own.
Rob Rossi joined the Tip of the Ice-Burgh Podcast prior to the trade deadline and had a similar opinion on the core’s thoughts on the front office.
Rossi said he feels a sense of frustration that management hasn’t done enough to help them.
In the grand sample size that is the 2022-23 season, it’s easy to see why they might be a little upset with Hextall; the team is just barely hanging onto a spot in the playoff race, and they’re watching a team like the Boston Bruins near a record-setting season.
The Penguins and Bruins entered the season on similar paths, with aging cores likely in their final years, but it’s the Bruins who had the wherewithal to build an imposing team around them.
The Bruins added major pieces prior to the deadline and look like the favorites to win the Stanley Cup; while the Penguins sat back, took multiple seven-game losing streaks, and only made small moves at the deadline.
It’s not certain that Crosby, Malkin, and Letang are upset and as frustrated as fans are with Hextall and his decision making, but could you blame them?
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