Taking a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins blue line and what they need to do this offseason. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have plenty of free agent decisions to make, but none more important than Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The two veterans have been with the team for more than a decade, but this offseason, they face the most uncertainty of their careers. At 35-years-old, both are unrestricted free agents, which has both them and the Penguins debating the value of their next contracts. General manager Ron Hextall told Penguins media [https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1528817271728111617] that the two players have had recent discussions with the team about their contracts. "What I can tell you is they're both great athletes who have been here a long time and are performing at a high level right now," Hextall said. "We'd certainly like to have them in the mix in September." Hextall and the Penguins are thinking longer than that, though. "We would like to sign both players," Hextall said. [https://twitter.com/OtherNHLCrosby/status/1528823047830003713/photo/1] "I think you look at individually, they've both been here for 16 years. Geno has obviously been a great player. Certainly, one of the best players in the history of the game. We'd like to keep him a Pittsburgh Penguin for the rest of his career. In a perfect world, Geno retires a Penguin. Tanger is the same."The GM confirmed there is no timeline for when new deals could be done. NHL free agency doesn't open for two months, but Pittsburgh has already started inking deals for their free agents. Fans hope Malkin and Letang are next. Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins [http://insidethepenguins.com/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more! Insider Believes Pens Have Room for Malkin, Letang, But Not Depth [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/pittsburgh-penguins-room-kris-letang-evgeni-malkin-depth] Penguins More Difficult Replacement, Letang or Malkin? [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-difficult-replacement-evgeni-malkin-kris-letang] Who Could Follow Bryan Rust With Team-Friendly Deal [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-next-team-friendly-deal] Bryan Rust Pushes Penguins to Re-Sign Malkin, Letang [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/bryan-rust-pittsburgh-penguins-sign-kris-letang-evgeni-malkin] Penguins Re-Sign Bryan Rust [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/pittsburgh-penguins-sign-bryan-rust] GM Ron Hextall Asked to Map Future of Penguins [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/ron-hextall-map-future-pittsburgh-penguins] Potential Landing Spots for Kris Letang [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-landing-spots-kris-letang] * undefined * undefined
