PITTSBURGH -- Dan Muse knows there’s urgency with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Captain Sidney Crosby, entering his 21st NHL season, desires winning the Stanley Cup a fourth time. Center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang, each set for his 20th season, do too.
Muse, hired June 4 as Penguins coach, gets that. But rushing won't work, he said.
“To put a timeframe on it, it's going to be Day 1 of training camp, it starts,” Muse said Wednesday. “There's going to be a lot of work that goes into it beforehand. That's to work with each individual and what they need. It's going to be to work with the collective group. And as soon as we get on the ice for the first time, we're going to continue to build.”
Muse spoke with Crosby and Letang. In all, he said he has had conversations with 95 percent of the roster currently under contract.
This is an exciting time for Pittsburgh, Muse said, even though the Penguins have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past three seasons after 16 straight appearances.
Crosby's star, in particular, still sparkles; turning 38 years old on Aug. 7, he led Pittsburgh with 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) in 80 games this season. His contract runs through 2026-27 on a two-year, $17.4 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) he signed Sept. 16, 2024.
Malkin and Letang are also key.
Malkin, who will turn 39 on July 31, had 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists) in 68 games. He will enter the final season of a four-year, $24.4 million contract ($6.1 million AAV) he signed July 12, 2022.
Letang, 38, had 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 74 games before having surgery in April to close a small hole in the wall of his heart. He has three seasons remaining on a six-year, $36.6 million contract ($6.1 million AAV) signed July 7, 2022.
“In regard to the veteran players who are here, you’re always working with the leaders,” Muse said. “You’re always working with the players that have been in this league ... guys who have not just been in this league, but been in this organization for such a long time. You’re going to be leaning on them to have those conversations, those daily discussions.”
Mike Sullivan did the same before parting from Pittsburgh on April 28. Sullivan won the Stanley Cup in his first two of 10 seasons as coach and won (409) and coached the most games (753) in their history. He was hired by the New York Rangers on May 2.
Muse is different. The 42-year-old is a first-time NHL head coach with five years as an assistant for the Nashville Predators (2017-20) and Rangers (2023-25). His head coaching experience has come in college and the United States Hockey League.
“I thought it would have been a great disservice to the organization just to hire someone that either I know very well or that I’ve worked with in the past, without going through the proper process,” Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas said, “especially given where we are and the unique nature of the job.”
Crosby, Malkin and Letang are the faces of the franchise; that won’t change for at least one more season.
Forwards Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen and defenseman Owen Pickering, each 21 years old, aren’t as well known, but they could be equally important.
"It became clear that he was somebody that was going to be extraordinarily well-suited to develop all of our players," Dubas said of Muse. "Not just our young players, but all of them."
Muse is a former high school history teacher. His playing career had a ceiling of Division III hockey at Stonehill College.
He isn’t Sullivan, but he might be what these Penguins need.
“I had to work really hard just to be a high school player," Muse said, "and then really, really hard just to be a bad Division III player. That helped me become who I am, so I wouldn't change any of that. That taught me about work ethic. ... You never quit, you don't stop. You don't listen to any of the outside noise. You just keep finding a way.”
