from Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Jim Rutherford said Tuesday that he expects Phil Kessel, who last month nixed a trade to the Minnesota Wild, to be with the Penguins next season. It also sounds as if Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang aren’t going anywhere either.

“There will be a few changes made. It’s what I expected when the season ended. But we’re also talking about a team that got 100 points last year through a season of inconsistency,” the Penguins general manager said in a phone interview. “So there’s no reason why this team can’t compete at a high level.”

After the Penguins got swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the New York Islanders, the organization discussed the possibility of trading Kessel, Malkin and Letang, among others, sources told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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