PITTSBURGH — Give Brian Burke and Ron Hextall a lot of credit for the Penguins' solid playoff positioning at the All-Star break.
They made the critical decision to stick with Tristan Jarry as their goaltender after his miserable showing in the playoffs last season. Jarry has been the team's MVP so far, made the All-Star Game, is a Vezina Trophy candidate and is the No. 1 reason the Penguins are a virtual lock to make the postseason for a 16th consecutive year.
Burke and Hextall also brought in Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen as key role players. The two players have made fans forget about Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann. And just last month, Burke and Hextall signed veteran center Jeff Carter for two more seasons at $3.125 million per year. Both the term and cost are right.
