Wild report coming out of Pittsburgh has captain Sidney Crosby pissed off with the Pens' management group

As you may be aware, Malkin and Letang are both on expiring contracts and have the right to pursue opportunities with another organization on July 13th if they so choose, though it seems likely that both would prefer to return with the Pens next season. Rossi has reported on Monday that the Pens have reportedly tried to low-ball the pair of veterans and that Sidney Crobsy is none too pleased by Burke and Hextall's attempts to pinch pennies with two of the team's most valuable players.

According to Rossi, the Pens have extended offers to each of Letang and Malkin in the $5M AAV range over a 3 year term. Both Letang and Malkin are 35 years old, with Malkin turning 36 this summer, so the term is probably right. However, for two players who possess the sort of game-changing ability that Letang and Malkin do, $5M is certainly laughable.

It is worth mentioning that players often don't concern themselves with the contract negotiations of other members of the team, but with these 3 being as close as they are, it doesn't surprise me that Crosby would want to see them taken care of. The fact that a new management regime has come in and the threat of a rebuild is looming likely already has the players on edge. Now, with two of their star veterans being low-balled, you have to wonder if there will be some significant changes this summer in Pittsburgh. Possibly even a full-blown scorched earth rebuild.

Call me crazy, but if you've got two players like Letang and Malkin who want to be there and who hold all of the cards in terms of being able to walk in free agency, you might want to negotiate in good faith instead of low-balling them and pissing off your captain by running his two best friends out of town.