CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Indeed, the Penguins were dealing with injuries during their recently-concluded playoff run. The nature and extent of them, however, will remain shrouded in secrecy.
During Wednesday's locker room clean out at the Lemieux Sports Complex, neither players, coach or general manager would divulge much. Two of the prominent players who were playing injured -- Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel -- did not speak with reporters.
"I'd rather not get into the list of injuries that guys had," Mike Sullivan said when I asked. “(Kessel's) was not significant, I can tell you that."
Jim Rutherford confirmed that whatever is or was ailing Kessel would not require surgery.
"He's actually dealt with injuries all year and, to his credit, he played through those in the regular season," the general manager said. "But his playoffs was not what it has been the last couple years and I know some of those things he dealt with caught up with him."
Kessel had nine points (a goal and eight assists) on just 18 shots and a was a minus-5 in 12 playoff games. Those numbers are considerably down from the previous two Cup-winning years when Kessel recorded 10 goals in 24 playoff games in 2015-16 and eight in 25 games last year.
Malkin, who finished fourth in the league in points (98) and fifth in goals (42) suffered a knee injury in Game 5 of the first-round series against Philadelphia and then had just a goal and two assists in his final four games.
The injury is severe enough that it will keep Malkin out of the ongoing IIHF World Championships in Denmark, according to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation:
⚡Нападающий Евгений Малкин не сможет приехать в сборную из-за травмы колена. Желаем скорейшего выздоровления, всегда ждем Евгения в сборной! Благодарим его и всех болельщиков сборной России за поддержку! Она очень важна для нашей команды! #силавсегдавкоманде pic.twitter.com/x3otmItWdH
— Хоккей России (@russiahockey) May 8, 2018
The most severe injury may have been to Derick Brassard, who suffered a groin injury on March 27, missing the final six games of the regular season. In the 12 playoff games, he had just a goal and three assists.
"He tried to play through it, made it difficult for him to play the way he's capable," Rutherford said.
Brassard is under contract and will be healthy next season when he should be able to resume his normal workload. By season's end, he was playing just 11-12 minutes while centering the fourth line.
"He's a good enough player to do it," Rutherford said. "He has to be healthy."
After playing in 90 playoff games over the last six years with three different teams, Brassard said he's looking forward to a full off-season to rest and recuperate.
"I think there was a feeling-out or a process or an adjustment process that he went through," Sullivan said of Brassard. "I don't know that if we ever got there, to the comfort level where we know he's capable of being the player that he is. And I believe Brass is a really good center-iceman, a really solid two-way center-iceman, and I believe he'll be that moving forward."
• The left side of Zach Aston-Reese's face is still puffy and he can't eat solid foods. But he hasn't lost his sense of humor after suffering a concussion and broken jaw, which is being repaired by plates and screws.
"Hopefully, I won't be setting off too many metal detectors," he said. "It's more discomfort than anything. I kind of feel like a chipmunk."
The rookie was knocked out of the playoffs in Game 3 of the Capitals series after taking a high hit from Tom Wilson, who was handed a three-game suspension. Wilson has never reached out to him, he said.
"I thought it was a bit high," said Aston-Reese, who can resume training in three weeks. "At the end of the day, it's just part of the game."
• Dominik Simon said he was playing through a fractured left thumb.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins locker clean out, UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, May 9, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS