It would be the thrill of a lifetime for a rookie to play on the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside legends Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. For Penguins' head coach Dan Muse, getting the opportunity to start the game with two of his rookies, Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke, alongside the 20-year legends was too good a chance to pass up.
“I don't know if it's always going to be the case, but I think when the opportunity presents itself to get those guys out right away, rather than sit there for a little bit… You never know how it's going to go. If you go back in one of our later exhibition games, we took a penalty and we were killing for four minutes. You just don't want to leave things to chance,” Muse told reporters after the game. “We had three guys that have been playing together for 20 years, and I thought it was important to start that game together. And so, it kind of worked out well to be able to do that.”
Muse might've downplayed the situation, but there was a certain synergy to the moment at Madison Square Garden. Crosby, Malkin, and Letang still have plenty to give, but it almost felt like a passing of the torch moment from the old generation to the new generation. With the uncertainty surrounding Crosby and Malkin's futures, the team could be Kindel and Brunicke's quicker than they think.
Crosby and Malkin could both find new homes before the trade deadline. With Malkin's departure almost a foregone conclusion, Crosby's future is a bit more up in the air. The Penguins aren't going to entertain trading the captain until he gives them the go-ahead, but it seems like that is getting closer and closer to being a reality.
The Penguins' rebuild is well on its way, and Kindel, their 2025 first-round draft pick, is getting a chance to start the year in Pittsburgh as an 18-year-old, which is a great starting point.
