Penguins' Hextall: I'll be surprised if we don't re-sign Letang

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall appears confident he'll get Kris Letang signed to a new deal.

"I'd be surprised if we don't get Kris done," the GM told reporters Wednesday when asked if he was more confident about re-signing Letang than fellow pending unrestricted free agent Evgeni Malkin.

"Certainly I think (with) Kris, I'm hoping to have something done real soon here, but we've got a few details we're working through. So we'll see where it goes," Hextall added.

Ron Hextall says he believes he is close to getting a deal with Letang done. On Malkin: We are still working." pic.twitter.com/QlC9y7XtO0

- Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) July 6, 2022

In late June, it was reported that the Penguins and Letang were two years apart in talks. He was apparently seeking a five-year deal, while the team offered him three. Letang was seemingly eyeing a raise as far back as January.

The star defenseman, who's spent his entire 16-season career with the Penguins, had a career year in his 15th full campaign in 2021-22. Letang impressed offensively for a 35-year-old rearguard, racking up 10 goals and 58 assists over 78 games.

The Penguins have around $21 million in cap space to re-sign Letang, Malkin, and possibly others, like pending UFAs Rickard Rakell and Evan Rodrigues, along with potential restricted free agents Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen.

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