Penguins/NHL
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Final determination on Malkin’s left elbow expected this week
Some Western Conference General Manager’s have believed that Evgeni Malkin could be had in the right trade. Maybe that’s why some Malkin chatter is circulating once again as it seems to every summer, the latest being an odd rumor yesterday from Steve Zipay of Newsday that the Blackhawks were “seriously kicking the tires” on a Malkin trade.
The chatter going around was that Mike Sullivan’s a big fan of Artem Anisimov and some talk in league circles is that the Chicago stuff came from some back channels in the Hawks organization who are tight with Sullivan.
At the end of the day, there’s nothing to them at this point and won’t be — at least not this summer —
Among the reasons why:
1. There’s the fact that those above Jim Rutherford, notably Team President David Morehouse who have made it clear to Penguin management again that ownership will not sign off on any Malkin trade for the second straight summer with the Penguins still officially up for sale.
2. Maybe, most importantly, major elbow surgery has been on the table for Malkin as an option that would sideline him for several months, possibly 9-12 months. The Penguins are sought a second opinion early this week in the hopes that Malkin can avoid the surgery. There’s still a chance he won’t need the surgery. [hide]That said, you think a team wants to touch that combined with the price it would take to pry Malkin out of Pittsburgh? Not to mention he has a $9.5 million cap hit.
The Penguins are headed down this path under Mike Sullivan of playing such a team game that it’s certainly possible that Evgeni Malkin gets traded in the next couple years as he enters his early 30’s while being a player who is often dealing with injuries.
The reality is his best days are behind him.
But, there’s no chance of a trade happening this summer for the reasons above.
The only storyline to watch with Malkin this summer is whether he’s going to miss a significant portion of the 2016-2017 season or not. The good news is a final determination is going to be made by team, outside specialists before July 1.
Possible elbow surgery for Malkin and potential retirement for Matt Cullen could see the Penguins go the free agent route for a buy-low free agent center to fill the gap. Maybe a former star forward to rebuild his value on a one year deal?
There’s a lot of connections between Jim Rutherford, Eric Staal and Staal’s agent Rich Curran. It won’t be a surprise to some in the know that a conversation or two happens this week with Rutherford kicking some tires on Staal due to the uncertainty of Malkin and gauge Staal’s interest in rebuilding his value on a one year deal.
Meanwhile, Penguin scouts love Detroit’s Darren Helm (who is rated high on the Penguins board) as a fit with his speed game but with Nick Bonino needing a new long-term deal and Helm expected to seek a three to four year deal worth north of $3 million per season, he’s not a financially ideal target.
The Washington Capitals wanting to get quicker in the bottom-6 are being talked about as a team that will target Helm, along with New York’s Frans Nielsen.
The final determination of whether Malkin needs surgery or not is going to have quite the impact on the Penguins off-season.
Stay tuned.
More Buzz
*The Official Expansion rules were released. Pertaining to the Penguins the key rule is players with no movement clauses have to be protected. Therefore, Marc Andre Fleury would officially have to be protected along with Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang. I saw some bloggers saying Fleury has a “modified no movement clause”. Modified no movement clauses don’t exist. There’s only a full no movement clause. What Fleury does have is a modified no trade clause.
Other Details from the NHL:
* Clubs will have two options for players they wish to protect in the Expansion Draft:
a) Seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender
b) Eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender
* All players who have currently effective and continuing “No Movement” clauses at the time of the Expansion Draft (and who to decline to waive such clauses) must be protected (and will be counted toward their club’s applicable protection limits).
* All first- and second-year professionals, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club’s applicable protection limits).
Player Exposure Requirements
* All Clubs must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the Expansion Draft:
i) One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.
ii) Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.
iii) One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. If the club elects to make a restricted free agent goaltender available in order to meet this requirement, that goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the club’s protected list.
* Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be used to satisfy a club’s player exposure requirements, unless approval is received from the NHL. Such players also may be deemed exempt from selection by the League.
— Awards Night: Jim Rutherford took home GM of the year…..Sidney Crosby finished 2nd for the Hart Trophy…….Mike Sullivan was 5th in Coach of the year voting…. *[/hide]
