With the Penguins failing to make it out of the first round for a third consecutive season, change is to be expected this offseason.
As the Penguins' core three players -- Sidney Crosby (33), Evgeni Malkin (34) and Kris Letang (34) -- get older, much of the discussion sparked by those exits each year leads to people questioning whether its finally time to turn the page on this core, specifically by moving Malkin and/or Letang.
"Well, they've been saying that for four years, right?" Crosby quipped when asked after Game 6 what he'd say to people suggesting its time to turn that page. "So I don't know if I'm going to change anybody's mind."
Letang and Malkin are both entering the final year of their contracts, and Letang is the only one of the three without a full no-movement clause, instead having the ability to create a list of 18 teams to which he would accept a trade.
Letang was asked after Friday's cleanout day if he has any concern entering this offseason that he might be a part of any changes to the roster.
"I don't know, that's not my call," he said, before taking a long pause.
"I don't want to think about those things," he continued. "I want to prepare, prepare myself. I don't think you can say that this year we didn't have a great year. We finished first in our division, some people say the hardest division. We faces a great opponent in the first round and I thought we carried the play most of the series. I just think there's questions to be answered, and I'm not in charge of those. At the end of the day I thought we had a great team, a great core. I still strongly believe in this core of players, that we can do great things."
Crosby, Malkin, and Letang have cemented their place in franchise history with three Stanley Cups and a number of individual accolades and records. They rank first, second, and fourth respectively for games-played in franchise history, with Letang on track to surpass Mario Lemieux for the No. 3 spot next season. Crosby became the first player in franchise history to hit the 1,000 game mark with the team when he did so this season, and Malkin is 20 games from joining him in that club.
"They're the ones that establish the culture here in Pittsburgh, and the winning culture that we have now," Brian Dumoulin said of what those three still mean to the team. "Without them, we don't have that culture. ... They show up every night, play as hard as they can, and drive the bus. It's a pleasure to watch them work every day, it's definitely made me a better player being able to learn from them."
Jake Guentzel, asked specifically about Malkin and Crosby, two players he's spent time with as a linemate, called both players "game changers."
"They bring it every night," Guentzel added. "That's just what we expect of them. For us, we're lucky to have them and have those two superstar players on our team. Points-wise and 200-foot game-wise, it's special to be able to watch them and learn from them."
Mike Matheson entered this year already familiar with Letang after the two trained together in Montreal in past offseasons, and he said that now as Letang's teammate, he saw much of the same drive from those summer sessions.
"I think he means an incredible amount to this organization and to this city," Matheson said. "He's one of the most recognizable guys around the city and it's because of the years that he's put into this team, the success that he's had, and he's been such a big part of the team for so long. He brings that work ethic and passion every day to make his teammates better."
Letang was asked Friday if he thought that the three have earned the right to finish their careers in Pittsburgh after the success they've had.
"This is a business," Letang said. "It's not up to me to decide those things. Like I said in the past, me, Geno and Sid want to finish as Penguins. We truly believe in ourselves. We think we have a lot to offer. Earning something, it's a tricky word. That's what we want, but it's not up to us."
Letang was the only member of the core three to speak on Friday's cleanout day -- Crosby spoke after Game 6, and Malkin doesn't typically speak on cleanout days -- and he said that the upcoming offseason is going to be much of the same, "stay in shape and stay healthy."
Their teammates are expecting them to put in the work to return and compete for a Stanley Cup next season.
"I know how hard Geno, Sid and Tanger work in the offseason," Dumoulin said. "They're going to put theirselves in the best position to help our team win next year. That's their goal, that's all of our goal, is to win."