PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – So how do the Pens replace a pair of Hall of Famers upon hearing news today Sidney Crosby will join Evgeni Malkin missing the start of the NHL season.
Crosby had wrist surgery Wednesday and expected to miss 'a minimum of six weeks'. Malkin had knee surgery this offseason and may not be ready until the holidays.
"It's not ideal, let's be honest," said Penguins GM Ron Hextall. "We are not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We still have to find ways to win games."
"We aren't going to replace Sid and Geno. So we will need different guys to step up on any given night. We are going to have to play a hard brand of hockey."
They can't replace Sid and Geno's production, but will have to replace them on the ice. Hextall said it opens up opportunities for Evan Rodrigues, Radim Zohorna, Dominik Simon and the recently added Brian Boyle and Michael Chaput.
"We have some guys from within that we are excited about," Hextall said. "I think a guy like Zohorna who showed what he showed last year. Evan Rodrigues has a high skill level. A guy like Teddy Blueger is going to get a little more. Need Jeff Carter to play well."
It sounds great to have those guys step in, but with the exception of Carter and Boyle. There isn't a lot of experience or production there. Combined 83 NHL goals between Blueger, Rodrigues, Zohorna, Chaput and Simon.
"This is going to be a group effort to make up for the deficit we have here," Hextall said. "No sense crying about it. Every team goes through it. You look at our schedule. We have a very light divisional schedule at the start of the year. In terms of Sid's timeline, that's a positive."
True, not a lot of divisional teams, but the Pens open at two-time defending champion Tampa Bay, then at Florida. Chicago and Marc-Andre Fleury at home and then Toronto and a rematch with the Lightning later in the month.
Hextall defers to Pens head coach Mike Sullivan as to the style they play without Crosby and Malkin. They likely will say the 'standard is the standard'. They will 'plug and play' or whatever clichés best fit the situation.
Injuries in the past have focused this team. They've been hard to play against. They will need to bring that from the start next month.
"When you have the number of points out of the line-up that we are going to have with Geno and Sid, you need to tighten things up," Hextall said. "Our defense and goaltending, we need to be tight. Also up front, we need guys to step up offensively and do a good job for us."
"We've got a lot of proven players up there; that have scored a lot of goals. Made a lot of plays in this league. We have enough talent to hold the fort until Sid gets back and then Geno gets back."
"We look forward to having the two of them back. It will almost be like an addition we made to our team."
"We've got some heavy work to do early in the season. We have to get off to a good start."
It's a contract year for Bryan Rust, Kris Letang, Rodrigues, Carter and Sam Lafferty. Great opportunity for them to show value by leading this team before the leaders return.
