On Friday, the Penguins locker room cleanout in Cranberry took place, and outside of Edmonton, I think this was the most interesting cleanout day across the league. Several storylines came out of the player sessions with the media, and we’re going to get into the ones that matter.
Ben Kindel’s first season came to a close. It came to a close after he iced a puck that led to the series clinching goal. I saw some people bemoaning about Kindel’s icing, and his play in the playoffs. I think all of those people should be excommunicated from the game of hockey, or at least the Penguins. Kindel played the most games of any rookie from the 2025 draft class when you factor in preseason and playoffs. Kindel was not supposed to play even one game at the NHL level this season. Kindel was thought to be undersized and not have the skating necessary to keep up at hockey’s highest level. Yet, Kindel became one of the most reliable Penguins this season. There was a certain type of calm to his game that was consistently present, he rarely made a rookie mistake and could always be relied upon to help slow things down. An undersized 18-year-old scored 17 goals this season while being one of the Penguins better defensive forwards, no matter how the season ended you will certainly take that season from a rookie. Now, I do love how hard Kindel is taking the decision to ice the puck. For a kid as focused on hockey as he is, you love him having something to obsess on in the offseason. What I don’t want to see is a lack in confidence. In no way shape or form is that icing going to be what Kindel is remembered for this season. He showed all the tools to be a top of the lineup center. He was good in the dot, he was defensively responsible, and he had a scoring touch despite not necessarily rounding out his offensive game yet. I actually expect a second-year boom, rather than sophomore slump, given the fact he has a full year under his belt and has the time to now work on his NHL styled offensive game. He played more hockey than he ever has this year, doing so entirely against grown men, he will be better off for it even if he slowed down after the Olympics. Kindel is going to be a very good player for this team for a long, long, time. Use the end of the season as motivational fuel for even better year 2 in the league.
Sidney Crosby, the leader of the Penguins, the face of the NHL, and the most important voice to speak during clean out day. Sid provided some insight into his health which is something we have all wondered about. He said he felt good physically, but he noted that he still needs to meet with the medical team for some scans and a PT plan for the coming weeks. Crosby seemingly avoiding any surgeries is a plus, but he was clearly still banged up. Sid spoke briefly about his future and noted that it is now a year-to-year thing where he has to assess how his body is reacting at the end of the season. It’s a scary thing knowing he is year to year, but one that is going to happen to any player of his age. Sid also spoke about being proud of this group and that he takes this year as a good first step. I find that particularly interesting. Everyone knows that Sid’s agent put some pressure on Dubas to get this team, specifically the big 3, back to the playoffs. They accomplished that goal but faltered in round one. The public sentiment after the first-round loss remains that the Penguins need to sell off assets and get younger. The public seemingly disagrees with Sid’s comment on this being a good first step. I am somewhere in between on this topic. The season was awesome and you’d love to enjoy a regular season like this year’s every year. However, as all of your most important pieces will be another year older, it will only become more difficult to repeat that type of success. The Penguins don’t need to have half of this roster be rookies, but it would probably behoove them to move a few pieces, likely a Rakell, to get slightly younger around the aging legends. As long as 87 is the captain of this team, missing the playoffs will be a disappointment so Dubas will likely try to take another step in the right direction while also getting younger. It’s going to be a tight rope to walk on, but I think it can be done. I don’t see the point of a massive sell-off in an attempt to draft Landon Dupont in a year from now.
Lastly, the elephant in the room was discussed. Evgeni Malkin’s future. It’s been presumed that Geno was wrestling with two options, resign with the Pens, or retire. We all learned that a third option is seemingly on the board. Malkin responded “yes” profoundly when asked if he would play with another NHL team if Dubas decides to let Malkin go to free agency. Malkin has made up his mind; he will be playing in the NHL next season. Obviously, Geno could be using that as negotiating leverage but if he’s committed to playing in the NHL then it better be with the Penguins. There is no reason to have his farewell tour be with another team, especially if the other team is presumed to be the Capitals. If Dubas is worried about Malkin’s age resigning him might actually work in his favor. Let’s say Malkin falls off a cliff next season, the Penguins would likely struggle, and thus the team would wind up with a high pick. Dubas allowing Geno to walk for free doesn’t really accomplish anything. None of the young guns showed well enough this year to claim Malkin’s spot. There is no free agent that can step in and replace his production. I just struggle with the reasoning to let him go. Letting him go definitely makes your team worse. Keeping him might also make your team worse than this season, but at least the fan base will be tuning in to see him close out his career. I understand that the team will need to shift into a new era at some point, but I don’t think Dubas should force that shift. Bring Geno back, don’t make the people of Pittsburgh watch him in a Washington jersey. Evgeni Malkin’s last NHL goal cannot come with a different franchise. It’s difficult to put into words how much Malkin matters to this team, and this fanbase, so I don’t care if it’s pure nostalgia bait he needs to return. There can be plenty of other roster spots available to the youth; Acciari, Mantha, Brazeau, Novak, Rakell, Clifton, and Dewar could all be off this roster in October. Kris Letang could, and probably should, be off the roster too as his game has officially completely dropped off. Nevertheless, I still feel like you let the big 3 run into the sunset together and on their own terms. When you win 3 cups and save the franchise you earn the right to decide when you’re done.
It’s going to be an interesting off season for the Penguins. We will soon get clarity on Malkin. Shea and Chinakhov may get new contracts within the next couple of weeks. The Penguins will need to choose a goalie to tandem with Murashov. The free agent class is weak, but the RFA market might be very interesting for the Pens. No matter what happens, we will cover it here.
