PITTSBURGH — I hate to disagree with Tristan Jarry, who gave his all against the New York Rangers on Sunday night by playing hurt after missing a month with a broken foot and playing well enough to give the Penguins a chance to win Game 7.
But I must.
"They're generational players," Jarry said of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
I have no issue with that.
"Pittsburgh is lucky enough to have three of them for the last 15 years."
Still, no problem.
"The bond that they've created throughout the team is something that's irreplaceable. It's a business, but I think that, if they're able to come back, they definitely will. There's a bond between them. I think that's unbreakable."
That's where I'm stopping Jarry.
That bond is broken beyond repair.
At least it should be from the perspective of Penguins management.
It's time the team moves on from Malkin and Letang after 16 tremendous seasons, including three Stanley Cups. No other three teammates have been together that long in NHL history. But it's time to end the streak.
I believed that going into these playoffs. The Penguins' fourth consecutive first-round exit eliminated the last of any lingering doubts I might have had. It seems crazy to bring the same core back for another season. What do they say about those who don't learn from history? Beyond the postseason failures, Malkin and Letang aren't getting younger. Malkin will be 36 on July 31. Letang is 35. Each becomes a free agent on July 13.
I'm not sure the Penguins can bring Letang back even if they make re-signing him a priority. He should be coveted on the open market. He made $7.25 million this season and should get a big raise. His long-time agent, Kent Hughes, is the new general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. Letang is French-Canadian. Montreal just seems like the perfect fit for him.
Malkin's age and injury history bother me. I'm not really interested in bringing him back even if he takes a pay cut from the $9.5 million he made this season. In retrospect, the Penguins probably should have tried to trade him to the Florida Panthers a few years ago. He has a place in South Florida and probably would have waived his no-movement clause. We'll never know what the Penguins might have gotten in return. Maybe the Panthers would have given up a lot back then to get a star player. Jonathan Huberdeau, perhaps? Aleksander Barkov?
I keep hearing Penguins management needs to take Crosby's feelings into consideration. You know how that goes: Keep your superstar happy. But I sense Crosby knows it is time for a breakup. At least that's what I heard when he met the media after the Penguins' 4-3 loss in overtime in Game 7.
"It's a possibility. I think we knew that coming into the playoffs," Crosby said. "But I think you try not to really think about that. You hope that we make a good run. It's something that's in the back of your mind.
"It's not up to me, but, obviously, I've had a great experience playing with these guys over the years. I know what they bring."
What Malkin and Letang, along with Crosby, have brought Pittsburgh is spectacular hockey. All three are Hall of Famers who have put fannies in the seats for sellout crowds at PPG Paints Arena on a lot of cold winter nights. They have provided thrilling, memorable entertainment. Every city should be as fortunate as we have been, not just with those guys, but going back to the mid-1980s when Mario Lemieux showed up in town.
Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.
Two other points are worth mentioning:
One, the Fenway Sports Group owns the Penguins these days, not Lemieux and Ron Burkle. The new owners can't have the same loyalty to Malkin and Letang. Nor should they. As Jarry mentioned, pro hockey is a business.
And two, it's not as if the Penguins will let Malkin and Letang leave without replacing them. The salary cap room the team will have to use on free agents will be significant. There are a lot of other really good players in the NHL besides Malkin and Letang. It will be up to Ron Hextall, if he survives his postseason review with the new owners, to sign the right free agents.
I get that people generally are afraid of change. But change doesn't have to be bad. It can be the best thing for you, me and, in this case, the Penguins.
The time for the team to make that change with Malkin and Letang is now.
