You may remember the whirlwind 72 hours before the 2022 NHL free agent frenzy. Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins had failed to reach an agreement, and sourced reports including multiple from Pittsburgh Hockey Now, indicated Malkin would become a free agent.
Malkin was hurt. Fans were divided as some cheered the end of the aging core and a forward turn toward youth. In contrast, others lamented an ignominious end to the tenure of a generational talent and fan favorite.
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As the percolating news indicates that the Fenway Sports Group is ready to sell to the Hoffman Family of Companies, background stories are emerging.
According to Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast with Kyle Bukauskas, Penguins ownership stepped in as Malkin nearly reached free agency. Reading the fanbase, Fenway Sports Group told former general manager Ron Hextall to change course and re-sign Malkin, which he did mere hours before free agency began.
“Hextall was hired under the idea that the team was going to get rebuilt,” said Friedman. “And then when push came to shove–you remember there was that day where it looked like Malkin was going to hit free agency, and the fans spoke up, and it was clear that not everybody was ready for that group to be over.”
According to Friedman, Hextall was one of those ready for the youth movement, and that was his expectation upon being hired. In fact, Friedman reports that people close to the situation recently made a point to defend Hextall as a GM hired under one pretense, but then given orders to go in a different direction.
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Age was suddenly not a concern for the Penguins.
The Penguins re-signed the third member of the championship core, 35-year-old defenseman Kris Letang, a few weeks prior to the Malkin drama. Hextall also re-signed Jeff Carter, who was 37 years old, and traded 28-year-old D-man Mike Matheson for Jeff Petry, who was 34.
“The plan changed, and (people defending Hextall) just felt that it should be known that what he was hired to do and what he got instructed to do when the moment came were two very different things,” Friedman said.
That season, the Penguins badly faded down the stretch and missed the playoffs, setting off a chain reaction that allowed a surprising Florida Panthers team to make the playoffs and begin their three-year run of Eastern Conference championships and the Chicago Blackhawks to draft Connor Bedard.
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FSG Lost Interest?
Friedman’s reporting on FSG carried neither a positive nor a negative tone, but Penguins fans may very well view the facts as disappointing.
Some may remember that the first public comments from FSG came nearly 18 months after they purchased the team. Instead of FSG principals John Henry or Tom Werner, Alternate Governor Dave Beeston held a press conference with the recently promoted president of business operations, Kevin Acklin, to discuss the terminations of Hextall and the president of hockey operations, Brian Burke.
FSG bought the team in November 2021, and that press conference was on April 14, 2023.
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To be kind, Beeston was obviously nervous, and the press conference was, at best, awkward. Acklin joked that the management had been encouraging Beeston to get a home in Pittsburgh because he was in town so often.
However, Beeston kept quarters in a hotel. He left FSG last July with no fanfare and not even a public announcement.
“I had a couple of people say that David Beeston, who was part of their group and left, is now tied into the Houston expansion team. He was the biggest hockey fan that group had, and when he left, it wasn’t the same,” reported Friedman.
FSG didn’t speak much except for events, such as hiring Kyle Dubas. There was no owner’s box regularly filled with a recognizable figure, unlike days gone by with former owner Mario Lemieux. No, FSG ran the organization through managers, representatives, and daily phone calls.
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Another turn-off may have been the NHL management. Friedman implied that FSG might not be a fan of the control that commissioner Gary Bettman wields, which is far more than commissioners of other sports.
You can listen to the entire podcast here.
The post Friedman Reports Fenway Forced Hextall to Keep Malkin; FSG Lost Interest? appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
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