Trading Malkin
June 9th, 2008 by Jason ChenEd Wiles at the Vancouver Province also toyed with the idea of trading Evgeni Malkin, which seems to be a hot topic these days. Whatever amount the Pens sign Marc-Andre Fleury, and Marian Hossa/Ryan Malone to, they have to make sure that they have enough money to re-sign Malkin and Jordan Staal next year. It’s a difficult situation find themselves in. Paul Holmgren in Philadelphia has the same problem - a bunch of good young talent that he unfortunately has to lose through free agency or trade. Wiles speculates that Malkin would want to fetch a contract that establishes his full value - meaning a max contract, which ($55m x 20%) is $11m. Combined with Sidney Crosby’s contract, that’s already $20m tied up with two players. Compared to the Lightning who were one of the first cap era casualties, they had 3 players for $21m.
I think trading Malkin is the very last option. He’s a once in a decade talent that shouldn’t even be on the market - had their been no cap the Pens would’ve locked the guy up long, long ago. Wiles thinks he’s going to ask for $11m, which is obviously too high an asking price for the Pens, but I’m confident that he’d take a pay cut to stay with them, barring some sort of monumental collapse from the team. Like I said before, there’s an onus for the core players to take less money to keep a team competitive. If ANY player asks for $11m, they’re only handicapping the team and not allowing them to sign mid to top level players to flesh out the rest of the roster. In the end, I think he will settle for a contract that is marginally more expensive than Crosby’s. The only obvious reason I think that Malkin would leave Pittsburgh would be because he’s tired of playing second fiddle to the NHL’s poster boy. Malkin is a top-line centre and deserves top money, but as the saying goes, sometimes the spotlight just isn’t big enough.
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2 Responses to “Trading Malkin”
By Nathan on Jun 14, 2008
Trading Malkin should not be a last resort, but a priority. I have watched this guy since the juniors and just like the WJC when the going gets tough, Malkin folds. Even if he improves this it is Pittsburgh’s best bet to move him to L.A. for Dustin Brown and Lubomir Visnovsky . It gives the pens more skilled grit and allows them to retain the likes of Malone and Staal.
By Jason C on Jun 14, 2008
It’s actually not uncommon for young kids like Malkin to fold under pressure. I’d say the majority of rookies do. Fatigue is also a factor, as players from overseas and the NCAA ranks are generally not used to the tough travel and long season. Remember that Pavel Datsyuk was ripped by critics for his disappearing acts in the playoffs and look what he did this year.
Could you imagine if Malkin one day tears up the playoffs? No matter what the Pens got in return, people would be tearing Shero apart. Despite his poor play in the finals he still managed 22 points in 20 games - the same numbers as Heatley last year - yet Malkin has come under a lot of fire and virtually thrown under the bus.