Penguins/NHL
Latest Pens Buzz
1. The noise surrounding Evgeni Malkin continues to get louder and it’s getting back to the Malkin camp about how dissatisfied the organization actually is with the three-time Stanley Cup winner. The lack of push back continues to be something. There’s many inside the building who have become convinced over the last week that Jim Rutherford not only plans to chase offers for Evgeni Malkin, which sources say he has permission to do from ownership, Rutherford is motivated To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
The thought of trading Malkin this summer has been something the Penguins top brass had minor discussions about as early as late March, TIOPS has learned. This isn’t something that is just brewing off the emotions of being swept by the Islanders. Things had been brewing for a while and a belief among some in the organization that Malkin went to To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
And those with knowledge of Malkin’s thinking process say don’t be 100 percent certain Malkin won’t consider playing elsewhere.
The Malkin camp had information during the 2016 post-season [hide] that had Pittsburgh lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Conference Finals, Pittsburgh intended a major personnel shakeup with Malkin target No. 1 to be traded. Whispers are Malkin’s agent J.P. Barry told rival clubs that Florida and Los Angeles were the only two places Malkin would have considered playing had the Penguins bowed out and Pittsburgh tried to move him.
There’s a belief around the league the list would be a little longer this time around if Pittsburgh actually goes through and aggressively seeks a Malkin trade, some execs sense Pittsburgh believes this to be the case.
Among the other cities to watch:
Malkin has always had an admiration of playing in New York City, a source close to the situation says, and one former teammate of Malkin’s had great confidence Nashville would be a place Malkin would be willing to go.
MORE BUZZ
— There is an argument to be made that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford taking the route the Penguins were not a team from a day 1 in the 2018-2019 season is just an excuse for not looking into the mirror at himself of the personnel decisions that were made, but nonetheless, the Penguins off-season evaluation process continues to center majorly around which core players disrupted the Penguins room and whether things will change if the 1-2 players these discussions are centered around will continue.
“Where are we at as a team? This is one of my first questions when I talk to all the people I talk to,” Rutherford said this week via the Tribune-Review. “Can this team have a chance to contend next year, and if it can’t, what are the changes? Who are they, and why are they? The biggest thing is how do we get back to having a team concept that we feel like we’re playing as a team. We had a lot of good players, but we didn’t have a team.”
Aging, expensive Core (age at start of 2019-2020 season) whose names are at the forefront of organizational meetings among the brass:
1. Evgeni Malkin, 33 years old, 3 years remaining ($9.5 million cap hit)
2. Kris Letang, 32 years old, 3 years remaining ($7.25 million cap hit)
3. Phil Kessel, 32 years old, 3 Years Remaining ($6.8 million cap hit)
Among the Big 3, the Penguins have an idea based on past actions of making Kessel available of what type of market might be out there for Phil Kessel and who the suitors would be. That’s led to significant focus in meetings on the wildcards, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, with club officials putting everything on the table. As mentioned here early last week, the Penguins are said to be going through an extensive process in evaluating the future of both.
Meetings this week are expected to start focusing on big salaried secondary players on the roster like Patric Hornqvist, 4 years left with a $5.3 million cap hit, Justin Schultz (1 year, $5.5 million) and Olli Maatta (3 years, $4.08 million cap hit). [/hide]
— The coaching staff and management might not be on the same page with a number of players but they certainly are with 22 year old Marcus Pettersson. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
