Having been captivated by the game for most of his life, Sidney Crosby was well aware of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers well before he was directly involved in it.
So the remarkable notion of a Flyers villain like Ron Hextall now being the Penguins’ general manager isn’t lost on him.
At the same time, Crosby, an enfant terrible to those in the southeast corner of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is pragmatic about the union.
“It’s funny when you think about it,” Crosby said via video conference Wednesday, a day after Hextall as well as new president of hockey operations Brian Burke were hired. “You probably don’t ever anticipate that. But at the same time, I think you find yourself saying that a lot in hockey. It finds a way of bringing people together in a lot of different circumstances. In this case, it’s not any different. You think about rivalries and players getting traded and things like that and how many times you see that happen.”
What hasn’t happened much in the early days of the Hextall/Burke regime are meetings with players or coaches. There have been a handful of introductory phone calls, but with Hextall and Burke still out of town as they take over the team, they’re still getting acclimated to the franchise.
“I’ve crossed paths over the years,” Crosby said. “Don’t know them particularly well. I’ve heard great things. … Everyone is excited to meet them and move forward.”
Coach Mike Sullivan certainly seemed excited as he said the right things about his new bosses.
“I had the chance to speak to both of them,” Sullivan said. “We had good conversations. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with these guys. I know they’re excited to work with our team in helping and supporting where they can. I have a relationship with (Burke). I worked on the World Cup of Hockey with him (with USA Hockey). So him and I have an established relationship. (Hextall), I don’t know him as well. I have a ton of respect for what he was able to accomplish in Philadelphia. I know he’s going to bring his experience to Pittsburgh. We’re all of the same mind as far as what the objective is in trying to win.”
While Hextall and Burke eventually will evaluate the organization from a long-term perspective, Sullivan professes his focus remains immediate.
“I’m going to coach this team the best way I know how,” Sullivan said. ”We’re going to coach this team, as a coaching staff, the best way we know how that’s going to give us the best chance to win each and every night. That’s going to be our approach, that has been our approach and that will continue to be our approach. I look forward to the opportunity to build relationships with both Ron and (Burke). … It’s a great opportunity for us to learn from one another.”
As for Crosby and his teammates, their on-ice duties have been their focus during a hectic two weeks that involved a surprising resignation by former general manager Jim Rutherford, a few injuries, a few delays because of weather and league-wide covid-19 concerns and then the arrivals of Hextall and Burke.
“There’s so much just going from an injury standpoint and games being shifted and moved,” Crosby said. “There’s other people within the organization that do the interviews and conduct this sort of stuff. So our job is to just start playing and focusing on that. With all the other things that we have kind of going on, we have a lot to focus on. Our mindset, our mentality has just been on playing games and making sure we’re getting better.”
Notes: Forward Jared McCann will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis because of an undisclosed injury he suffered during Saturday’s 4-3 road loss to the New York Islanders. … Forward Evgeni Malkin left practice early Wednesday because of an eye irritation. There was no word on his status for Thursday’s road game against the Islanders. … Defenseman Marcus Pettersson resumed practicing in a noncontact fashion. He has been sidelined since suffering an undisclosed injury Jan. 19.
Follow the Penguins all season long.
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
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