NHL Rumors: Five Teams That Should Sign Evgeni Malkin
The Pittsburgh Penguins might not be able to re-sign Evgeni Malkin. Today let’s go over a few teams that should sign him.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Evgeni Malkin have been a match made in heaven since the team drafted him second overall in 2004. Malkin won three championships with the Penguins and the Calder trophy in 2007.
Throughout his 16-year career with the Penguins, he has played in 981 games, putting up 444 goals and 702 assists, good for 1146 points.
The history of the Penguins has seen a lot of success, and a lot of great players take the ice with the Pens jersey, but if you look at who the top guys are, Malkin is definitely in the discussion.
Malkin will go down in Penguins history as the third-best player to take the ice with the team. He is second all-time in games played behind just Crosby, and he is third all-time in goals, assists, and points behind Crosby and Lemieux., not lousy company to be with.
Malkin is 35 right now and will be 36 by the time next season comes around. He signed his last contract ahead of the 2014-15 season, and he made 9.5 million a year through eight seasons. His current deal is up, and while the Penguins might want to re-sign him, I believe some better teams out there could look to add Malkin.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to keep the band together, but that band has not won a series since 2018. The Pens might still have Crosby, but the supporting cast is dwindling, and keeping Malkin will only make things tighter cap-wise.
Some better teams out there could use a player like Malkin to help lift up their chances at a playoff run, and let’s go through those five teams right now.
1. The Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have a bright future ahead. The success of guys like Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry this past season has to excite the Ducks, so they might be interested in adding a superstar to lead the team for the next few seasons.
The Ducks are turning a corner in their rebuild. While they have not been in the postseason the last few seasons, like the Kings and Rangers this past year, they will want to make the jump.
With the Ducks, Malkin can seriously chase another championship for four or five seasons, depending on the length of the deal, and he would get a chance to play with some of the next up and coming stars of the generation.
The Ducks just lost their leader and face of the franchise in Ryan Getzlaf retiring. Bringing in Malkin will add a new top centerman who can help pave the way for this team’s young guys on the roster.
Now, the only issue with this signing would be that Anaheim has a lot of players they will want to sign first in-house. If they can figure out the majority of their roster first and see if they can make the math work on a Malkin signing, then yes getting this deal done would be excellent.
Malkin would get to play out his career on a rising team that could be competing for a championship in a season or two, and he would get to show how good he can be without Crosby on his team.
2. The New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are another up-and-coming team that probably wanted to be more competitive this season. They have their stars in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, but they can always use more experience.
The Devils have the cap room to add Malkin for a few seasons, and making a deal with the Devils might be worth his wild, considering how good of a roster they could potentially have in a few seasons when their core group gets older.
Malkin on this team would give the Devils three great centers that can be shifted up and down the lineup and play wing some nights to give this team a fresh look when things get tough. Hughes, Hischier and Malkin would make one of the deepest lineups around, and the two young centers could learn a thing or two from Malkin.
This Devils team does not have a lot of experience on their roster. They only have three players on their roster over 30, and two of those players are not even signed for next season.
In order to win in the NHL, you need everything youth and experience and the Devils would get their experience from a three-time cup champ like Malkin.
This is a similar discussion to the Anaheim Ducks, just not as far away from Pittsburgh. Malkin has played his entire career in the Eastern Conference and he might not want to change that up, considering how much lighter the traveling can be for the eastern teams compared to the west.
3. The Boston Bruins
This is the first team on the list that would definitely have to move some talent out to sign Malkin. The Boston Bruins do not have a lot of cap space for next season. They are a team always doing their best to compete and they might not have their top center next season.
Patrice Bergeron, the captain of the Boston Bruins, is not signed for next season. The 36-year-old and the Bruins have not worked out a deal yet, and no one knows what the future holds in store for Bergeron.
Should he decide to sign elsewhere or call it a career, the Bruins would be left in a tough spot trying to decide how to proceed. This team is built to be competitive now, but that is only the case with some elite talent running things down the middle.
This is arguably the biggest roster need for Malkin out of a lot of the teams available. While Malkin might not be able to get the biggest contract with the Bruins, he would be playing on a very good team over the course of the next few years.
4. The Detroit Red Wings
Make no mistake, the Detroit Red Wings will turn the corner sooner rather than later. So if you are a fan who still might not like the Wings after their 25-year playoff run and multiple championships, enjoy not having them in the postseason now, because they are going to be back sooner rather than later.
This team has a lot of talent with guys like Larkin, Vrana, Bertuzzi, and Raymond. They have a terrific roster that is going to be taking a big step forward this season, especially with the possibilities for who their next head coach could be.
Going to Detroit makes sense, but the contract length for Malkin has two different scenarios in mind. Malkin could say he wants four or five years at a high cap hit because he is worth it, and that would be true. Malkin definitely can take any amount he wants, and he can play some pretty good hockey for five more seasons.
Or he could take things a step back with the Wings. Signing in Detroit for three years might be the best for all parties involved. If the Wings struggle the next few seasons, then Malkin can say he wants out of Detroit and the Wings could make a deal happen for the remainder of his contract at that time.
If he wants off of his team regardless of where he signs, he is going to be making things more difficult the longer his contract goes. If he chooses to take a three-year deal, then he ultimately has more say over where things go the rest of his career.
5. The Pittsburgh Penguins
The last team on this list needs no introduction. Malkin has spent 16 seasons in Pittsburgh winning multiple championships along the way. He has already made the big money over the course of his career with his last contract being 9.5 million a season.
This is now the time for Malkin to decide what he values in his future. If it is the length of his deal and the Penguins won’t go past three, I understand why he might not re-sign in Pittsburgh, but at the same time if he doesn’t run it back with this team for a last dance type of run with Crosby, then I do not know what kind of success he is valuing the rest of his career.
Malkin can go win another championship with another team, but that would just be him chasing a championship instead of chasing the legacy he helped create in Pittsburgh.
This offseason will be fun to see where Malkin could potentielly end up. Let us know where you think he could be playing next season. Seeing a guy like Malkin in a different jersey definitely is hard to wrap your head around.