Penguins GM Ron Hextall: 'This group has been very resilient'

Ron Hextall is in a different place.

The playoffs.

To be clear, he’s been to the playoffs a lot, as an all-star goaltender and an executive.

But he hasn’t participated in postseason games in any capacity since he was the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers and saw them get dispatched in six games during the first round of the 2018 postseason by his current employer, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A little more than three years later, after taking over as the Penguins’ general manager in the middle of a season unlike any other in NHL history, Hextall — who is far more stoic as an executive than he ever was during his career as a fiery, combative goaltender — admitted to a lack of patience in anticipation of the Penguins hosting the New York Islanders for Game 1 of their first-round, series which opens Sunday at PPG Paints Arena.

“Oh!” Hextall exclaimed. “It’s exciting for all of us. The way we finished and won the (East Division). … It’s exciting. There’s probably 16 teams right now that are very excited, and we’re one of them. Sunday can’t come here soon enough.”

When Sunday does arrive, Hextall likely will see something he hasn’t yet observed during his still-young tenure as general manager.

A healthy lineup.

With the benefit of a week between their regular-season finale and Game 1, the Penguins are poised to have a fully healthy lineup for the first time this season.

Everything from concussions to bruised ankles to the sporadic placements on to the NHL’s covid-19 protocol list have led to the Penguins usually deploying a pockmarked lineup.

For Game 1, the 20 best players likely will be available.

“I take my hat off to the players and to the coaches,” Hextall said by phone. “When you’ve looked at the injuries that we’ve had and whatnot — (forwards Evgeni Malkin) and Teddy (Blueger) went down at the same time and (Kasperi Kapanen) … obviously, (Brandon Tanev) — our guys have fought through a decent amount of adversity and won the division. They’ve done a real good job, and I think their consistency has been impressive.”

The depth available to coach Mike Sullivan no doubt is impressive. An unofficial “fifth line” of Evan Rodrigues, Mark Jankowski and Colton Sceviour would be a fourth line for a number of other NHL teams. With the Penguins, that trio is relegated to participating in optional morning skates, barring injuries or absences further up the depth chart.

“That’s a big reason that we’ve gotten through the injuries that we’ve gotten through,” Hextall said. “You can look at different nights when Evan Rodrigues has stepped up and (forward) Freddy Gaudreau has stepped up and Colton Sceviour has stepped up. (Forward Zach Aston-Reese) has stepped up and (forward) Jared McCann has stepped up. So we’ve had contributions really from up and down the lineup. Both of our goalies. (Defensemen Mark Friedman) plays at the end and Chad (Ruhwedel) plays at the end. I really like our depth. It’s what got us through the injury periods that we’ve been through.”

Of course, the Penguins’ depth was inflated on April 12 thanks to Hextall’s signature transaction as the team’s general manager when he acquired former All-Star forward Jeff Carter in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. In the 14 games Carter played for the team following the deal, he scored a team-leading nine goals while putting up 11 points.

“We knew Jeff was a good player,” said Hextall, who oversaw Carter during his time as an executive with the Flyers and Kings. “Obviously, we knew Jeff could still skate. He’s played very well for us. Everybody knows that. Him and Jared seem to have had chemistry right from the get-go. That’s a big thing when you bring a new player into a team who hasn’t really played with anybody and you find that chemistry right away. Sometimes, it takes a while to find it and they just had that chemistry right away. That’s helped (Sullivan) and the coaching staff kind of settle the lines and put people in places they feel appropriate. Jeff’s done a real good job for us.”

While the Penguins could make a reasonable case for having the deepest roster of any team in the postseason, chances are they will be the least physical squad, too. That will be evident Sunday when they face an Islanders team with forwards Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, Leo Komarov and Matt Martin potentially in the lineup.

Hextall, who hasn’t hidden his preference for adding a physical element to the team at some point, doesn’t seem concerned in the immediate sense.

“The playoffs, teams are going to try to come at (opponents) with physicality,” Hextall said. “That’s just the nature of the business and it’s been going on for years. For us, it’s about playing through the physical play. We can play physical but we have to play through physical play. And it is going to get ramped up here for sure. This team, for the most part, has been through these playoff rounds before and they understand it. Obviously, (forward Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) and (defenseman Kris Letang) and all these guys have had the experience of being deep into the playoffs. They understand how physical it gets. And certainly, they’ll be passing it on to their teammates here.

“What is a tough team? A tough team is a team that plays through and shows resilience and shows a never-die attitude. Since (president of hockey operations Burke) and I have been here, this group has been very resilient.”

Hextall also expressed satisfaction with goaltender Tristan Jarry who will be entering his first NHL postseason as the unquestioned top goaltender.

“He’s done a very good job for us,” Hextall said. “Really from the time (Burke) and I got here, in the middle of February there, Tristan has been very consistent. All Tristan’s got to do is exactly what he’s done, certainly from the time we got here, and just be a really, really good goalie for us. And that’s be consistent. That’s what’s he’s done. (Backup) Casey (DeSmith), when he’s stepped in, he’s done the same. He’s been very consistent. Our goaltending, certainly since we’ve been here, has been very good. Really, nothing changes in the playoffs for a goaltender. The game still has to come to you. You can’t work harder. You can’t run someone. The game comes to you and dictates your movements.

“You’ve just got to keep a cool head, and Tristan’s done a very good job of doing that. We’re looking forward to seeing him play.”

No matter if they lose in the first round or win the Stanley Cup, change will be coming to the Penguins this upcoming offseason. With an expansion draft, the probability of a flat salary cap and franchise pillars such as Malkin and Letang entering the final year of their contracts, the franchise will be forced to undergo significant alterations because of the NHL’s business.

While short on specifics, Hextall acknowledges those realities. But his focus is much more immediate.

“It’s really hard to say right now,” Hextall said. “The playoffs are going to dictate. The expansion draft, we have a certain amount in our control there. But a certain amount is out of our control. We’ll figure those things out. We’ve obviously dabbled in those things. We’ll nail them down as we go along here.

“But right now, the focus is on the playoffs and how we can be successful.”

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