Evgeni Malkin is a mystery.
The man took his NHL career through the second largest center of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but is also one of the four most important players in franchise history, as well as Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Jaromir Jagr. He led the team to numerous victories but was blamed for a lot of losses. Faced with endless trade speculation, he was loved in Pittsburgh.
Malkin is a well-known partner of Crosby, making it possible to have different opinions on his value. Trade rumors have spun again after the Penguins were eliminated by the Penguins in the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.
But the idea of trading Malkin is once again raised by someone outside the team, even if it’s just for a moment. So let’s see why he seems to be considered as allocable.
Careers spent on assuming trading blocks
It’s hard to remember when the Malkin trade was not discussed. It may come from fans. Maybe from the media. Either way, it always seems to be there.
It dates back to at least 2010. Malkin won the Conn Smyth trophy and became the MVP in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. A year later, the Montreal Canadaens removed defending champion Penguins in the second round.
Malkin is not particularly effective. In 13 playoff games in 2010, he scored only 11 points (5 goals and 6 assists). But this is his fourth NHL season after his first two Stanley Cup finals. Retaining generations of talent that became the main catalyst for the 2009 champion should be considered beneficial.
But some fans (to be fair, probably the minority of voices) want Malkin to go. This kind of discourse happens almost every time the Penguin doesn’t win the championship. In fact, rumors remained after Pittsburgh lifted the Cup in 2016.
It has become a lasting reality.
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Penguin lost to Canadians in 2010 – Malkin may trade. The Penguins were swept by the Bruins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals – Malkin can trade. Malkin could trade before the Penguins gave the 3-1 series ahead of the New York Rangers in 2014.
Why do you want Malkin?
First, Malkin is not Crosby. This is very simple.
Malkin remains the second best player on his team. There was a time when he could have been considered the third best player in the world, second only to Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, but Crosby was better. Fans don’t want to be separated from the NHL’s face. It would be easier to let go of another person.
Malkin’s script also raises a question. He may be the dominant in any given game. When irritated, he often makes three points or so. But this can also change. He could explode, be suspiciously punished, and put Pittsburgh in an enviable position. Fans are frustrated. Defensive player Kris Letang had the same problem. This led some to question whether Malkin and Leitan deserve more trouble than they did. The answer is no. They are one of two most valuable players in franchise history. Nevertheless, the narrative remains.
Then there is the city of Pittsburgh, a town that wants to continue from history until it wants to stick to it.
Pittsburgh spent Marc-Andre Fleury’s Penguin career dreaming of a replacement just to get the goalkeeper to yell at the whistle to return a few years after he headed to Vegas. After years of Jagr, it was irritated when he joined the cross-country rival Philadelphia Flyer instead of returning to Pittsburgh in 2011-12.
It’s not even limited to hockey. In 2019, some in the city hope that the Pittsburgh Steelers will replace quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion, Devlin Hodges as a third-string QB, and he (no joke) is also a duck caller.
If Malkin does move, it will temporarily end his long and weird relationship with a city that worships him, while also trying to get rid of him.
Malkin’s legacy in Pittsburgh
Lemieux. Crosby. Jagr.
Malkin, with these three, became the greatest players in Penguin history and could lead third in Jagr if he stayed in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career. He is second in the Penguins (1,213) game, behind Crosby (1,352). Malkin ranked third in scoring (1,346), goals (514) and assists (832).
As mentioned, Malkin won Connie when he and Crosby first lifted the Stanley Cup in 2009.
As Crosby played only 22 games in 2011-12, Malkin won the HART trophy with 109 points (50 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games. He also won the Art Rose Trophy as the league’s scoring championship that season, winning the championship for the second time after winning the game in 2008-09 with 113 points (35 goals, 78 assists).
When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, Malkin scored a total of 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) in 48 games. Russia averaged 1.23 points per game in his first six NHL seasons. That’s not far from Crosby’s 1.39 points per game in his first six games. Malkin scored 0.49 goals in the first six seasons of each game, while Crosby’s first six seasons were just 0.51 in Crosby.
However, Crosby has been considered a top ten player at least, and in 2017, Malkin was not included in the roster of the top 100 players in NHL league history.
Malkin scored 1,100 NHL points in a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins on March 15, 2022. He joined Lemieux and Crosby as the only penguin to reach this mark. The next day, he suffered a knee injury and Pittsburgh lost 2-1 to Boston. He ended up missing the first two games against the Islanders in the series.
Latest trade rumors
Malkin turns 39 today and enters the final year of his contract. His production became less consistent. He was disappointed in 68 games (21 goals and 51 assists) in the 2018-19 season, but he was a career low of 25 and led the Penguins with an 89-minute free throw rate.
Next season is the old-fashioned Malkin – 74 points (25 goals, 49 assists) in 55 games during 2019-20 years. The level has been increased to 7. The fine was reduced to 58 minutes.
But Malkin is difficult to measure in the 2020-21 season. It took him a while to score 7 points (3 goals, four assists) in his first 14 games. Once he started to look like himself, a knee injury derailed in mid-March. His production has been declining in the following years: 83 years in 2022-23, 67 in 2023-24, and 50 in 2024-25 (68 games).
age. Wear. Inconsistent.
These are the reasons for trading Malkin in recent years. But now he is in the final year of his contract, it is unlikely to happen. There were times when he could be traded, but at this point they would let him start and end his career in Pittsburgh.
