For years now, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been a study in disappointment. In failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the past three seasons, the Penguins have failed their core of veteran star talent, including captain Sidney Crosby, center Evgeni Malkin, and defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. But in Malkin’s case specifically, he stated time and again that he wanted to remain in Pittsburgh for his entire career.
However, recent remarks Malkin made to NHL.com seem to have opened a door for Malkin potentially finding a new NHL employer. Rather than completely shutting down the question of where he’ll be playing this coming season, Malkin talked about possibilities. You can be the judge of what he said.
“(W)e see a story, like, with Brad Marchand – looking good, you know?” Malkin said of the longtime Boston Bruin-turned-Florida Panther, who won his second Cup last year in what is likely a Hockey Hall-of-Fame career. “But…if the team trades you and you (don’t) win the Cup, it’s like a little bit weird, too, you know? But we’ll see what’s going on (with) my future. But of course everybody wants to try to play in the playoffs and have maybe one more run to the Cup.”
Does that sound like someone who is 100 percent certain he’s going to finish his NHL career with the Pens? Sorry, but it doesn’t sound that way to this writer. Malkin’s desire to get into the playoffs this season could be all but extinguished well in advance of this season’s trade deadline, so if he’s truly intent on hanging up his skates after this season, and if he wants one last shot at a Cup, he probably won’t get it in Pittsburgh.
And if he’s comparing himself to Marchand, maybe there is a universe where Malkin decides to stay with the team the Penguins trade him to for another season after this one. Malkin is still only 39 years old – and in an era where veterans like Los Angeles Kings winger Corey Perry and Colorado Avalanche defensemen Brent Burns are filling important roles at age 40, it should surprise no one if Malkin finds a way to stick around through the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
This past year, Malkin produced only 16 goals and 50 points in 68 games – his lowest totals since he entered hockey’s top league in 2006 (excluding the shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons). He’s also been used more sparingly, averaging just 17:47 last season – nearly two full minutes less than his career average of 19:34. But at a point in time when a slew of teams are looking for secondary scoring and a second-line center, Malkin would bring back a king’s ransom to Pittsburgh in a trade for his services.
That’s why Penguins fans should happily accept the prospect of Malkin wearing another team’s jersey before he retires and is quickly voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. There’s always the emotional allure of a top athlete staying in one city for their entire competitive life, but given the reality of how difficult it is for teams to quickly rebuild their roster, it makes more sense to part ways with an asset – however valuable they may have once been to any particular organization – and hasten the move to a new core of top talent.
It’s admirable that Malkin wants a universe in which he stays a Penguin, goes on a deep playoff run with them this season, wins his fourth Cup and rides off into the sunset. The likelihood of that happening, though, is an entirely different story.
Thus, it’s best for Malkin to be moved out at some point this season and cap off his NHL days with a long playoff run on a different team. Malkin’s desire to be a one-team star will make it hard to cut the cord, but he wouldn’t be the first icon to be separated from the only employer they’ve ever known, and he surely won’t be the last. Malkin’s last great gift to the Penguins is the gift of accepting a trade out of town – and Penguins fans should understand it’s an idea whose time has come.
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