There is no doubt that Pittsburgh Penguins C Evgeni "Geno" Malkin is one of the best players in the league. Not long ago, some considered him to be the best player in the league, even better than his Pittsburgh Penguins teamate, captain Sidney Crosby. Those days have past. There is no doubt that Sidney Crosby is the best player in the NHL, no, the world. Malkin, although still one of the leagues' elite players, is no spoken about in the same breath as the Crosbys, Stamkoses, Ovechkins, Toewses or even Kanes. He is no longer a player that cracks everyone's Top 10 Lists. Evgeni Malkin is on the downtrend. 3 out his 4 past seasons have been sub par, plagued with inconsistency and at times very lazy play.
Some would argue that it's due to his lack of chemistry with his linemates. With the exception of James Neal, who, at the writing of this article, is on the IR, Malkin has not meshed well with any of the wingers GM Ray Shero has supplied for him. Albeit, they have not been the most skilled of players, either being veterans at the twilight of their careers or rookies just breaking into the league. Then again, no one thought Pascal Dupuis was a top notch winger when the Pens acquired him as a throw in in the Marian Hossa trade. But Sidney Crosby MADE him a top notch winger. On the same note, Crosby MADE fellow linemate Chris Kunitz one of best LWs in the league. Crosby makes the players around him better. If you put Tanner Glass on a line with Crosby for the whole season I guarantee he ends up with at least 15 goals. That's what makes Crosby so special and what sets him apart from Malkin. Malkin needs top notch linemates, Crosby does not.
Despite Malkin's recent struggles, GM Ray Shero decided to sign him for the long term this past offseason, signing him through the 2022 season for an average cap hit of 9.5M. At the peak of Sidney Crosby's contract, who is signed through 2025, is 8.7 M. Malkin was always going to command more money than Crosby, it's just something that was a foregone conclusion entering into the past offseason. I was extremely surprised that Shero was willing to shell out that such cap heavy contracts to both D Kris Letang AND C Evgeni Malkin. Don't get me wrong, both players deserved it, but now almost half of the Pens Cap is tied up in 6 players (Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury, Neal, Martin). After the second line, which right now is pretty banged up as it is, there is almost no scoring depth, or depth of any kind for that matter. With no cap space available to address the depth problem, and backup goalie Jeff Zaktoff struggling heavily in his first two NHL games, it may be time to start to consider the prospect of trading Evgeni Malkin.
It might sound like an impossibility, trading away Evgeni Malkin, but it's one GM Ray Shero HAS to start to consider. The primary reason the Boston Bruins beat the Penguins so badly last season and, on the same note, why the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, was the depth they had all throughout both of their lineups. The Penguins have ample depth at D, but the forward / goalie positions are a different story. Look no further for an example of this than the loss of LW James Neal. When Crosby doesn't have an other worldly night, the Penguins have had serious problems scoring. They have had no one to remotely fill the void left by the Canadian sniper. I mean Deryk Engelland is playing winger on the forth line. DERYK ENGELLAND. If that doesn't show the Pens lack of foward depth I don't know what does.
Trading Malkin would solve this problem in a heartbeat. Malkin is a type of player that could command a HUGE return - but that goes without saying . I am not suggesting that Shero deal Malkin for a bunch of dime a dozen roster fillers, but if there is a deal out there that would make this team a more balanced, deeper one than I would pull the trigger. Malkin would be THE man in any other city with the exceptions of Pittsburgh and Chicago. Anywhere else would love to have Malkin head their lineup. He's a player you build you're team around. Precisely why Shero should consider trading him. There are a few possible trading scenarios I have devised to show, what I believe, Malkin could command on an open trade market:
TRADE ONE:
Pittsburgh Penguins: C Evgeni Malkin
Calgary Flames: C Mike Cammalleri, 3/4 Line Forward, 2014 3nd Round Pick, 2015 1st Round Pick
Analysis: You all remember Mike Cammalleri, the player who (along with goalie Halak) sent the Pens packing a few years ago when they played the Montreal Canadians in the playoffs. Cammalleri is a very good player but is starting to enter the stage after the prime of his career (31 this year). He would fit very nicely on a 2nd line, flaked by James Neal and Beau Bennett / Jussi Jokinen. The key difference between him and Malkin is that he is a shooter first, passer second. That line would one deadly scoring machine with Cammalleri and Neal on it. But he's not even the key to this trade. The 2015 draft will feature Connor McDavid, or as some people have taken to calling him: "Sidney Crosby 2". The Flames are will be in rebuild mode for a long time, meaning they will probably be in the leagues basement for awhile. The Pens would have a serious shot of getting the first round pick in the 2015 draft meaning, if they won the lottery and got it, would have another Sidney Crosby. Just think about about that for a second - scary, right? Throw in a possible depth player on Calgary's end and the Pens would make out in this deal 10 fold. It wouldn't solve the depth problem, but would, after the 2015 draft (assuming the draft McDavid), make one of the most scary teams offensively in NHL history with Crosby and McDavid at the helm. Yes, this kid is that good.
Calgary is in full rebuild mode and will be for probably the next 5-10 years. They will be looking for a player to build their team around and Malkin would be that guy. It would also give Geno the chance to the man in a huge hockey market, a situation I think he would thrive in.
TRADE TWO:
Pittsburgh Penguins: C Evgeni Malkin, C Brandon Sutter
Buffalo Sabers: C Cody Hodgson, C Steve Ott, 2015 1st Round Pick
Analysis: I threw in C Brandon Sutter because he has been a total bust in Pittsburgh. He brings nothing to the team. C Steve Ott would fit in perfectly on the third line. He's a feisty centerman who is solid defensively and has a bit of a scoring touch. Hodgson is one of the best young players in the league and would fit in nicely on the second line. Once again though the key to this trade is the possibly of getting F Connor McDavid in the 2015 draft. Even if you didn't though, I feel this trade would make the team much more balanced as well at opening up a lot of cap space for other possible trades / FA pick ups.
The Sabers are in full rebuild mode and would be looking for a player they know they can build around - ie Malkin.
TRADE THREE:
Pittsburgh Penguins: C Evgeni Malkin, D Matt Niskanen
Edmonton Oilers: RW Jordan Eberle, LW Magnus Paajarvi, C Shawn Horcoff
Analysis: Ok, granted this trade would leave the line two center spot significantly weaker but if RW Eberle could convert to a center so that, I think, wouldn't be a huge be a problem. This trade would give the Pens some young scoring depth, along with a very reliable player in Shawn Horcoff. Jordan Eberle, in the years to come, will become one of the best players in the league - and he will get even better learning under Sidney Crosby.
The Oilers need D badly (why Niskanen would need to be thrown in) and leadership for their group of young forwards, which Malkin would supply. It's a win - win for both teams.
TRADE FOUR:
Pittsburgh Penguins: C Evgeni Malkin
Philadelphia Flyers: RW Jakub Vorachek, C Sean Couturier, C Max Talbot
Analysis: If the seas were some how to part and this trade would happen, it would actually make a lot of sense. Claude Giroux hasn't been the same player since his break out season a few years back and the Flyers need scoring. What they Flyers do have though is ample depth players that would thrive when placed in a different system - one where they are not pressured to score as much. Couterier could be replaced with any of said depth players they Flyers have in their system. Also, you would get back Mr. Depth Forward Max Talbot. But the key to this trade would be Vorachek who has really impressed me the past couple of seasons. He would fit nicely on a line with Crosby and allow Dupuis to move down to the second line, giving the second line a sturdy fixture at the RW position. Of course the downside of this trade would be that there would be no clear candidate for a second line center.
If the Flyers season continues the way it has started, and they miss the playoffs for the second year in a row, big changes are coming to Philadelphia. It wouldn't be impossible to believe that if they continue to play as bad as they have that they would rip apart their current team and look to go in a different direction - getting Malkin would be a huge step in doing so.
