{"id":130286,"date":"2022-07-01T14:28:21","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T18:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=130286"},"modified":"2022-07-01T14:28:21","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T18:28:21","slug":"evgeni-malkin-contract-could-be-with-new-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/07\/01\/evgeni-malkin-contract-could-be-with-new-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Penguins Star Centre Could Have A New Home Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When thinking of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the things that always come up are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/j\/jagrja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaromir Jagr<\/a>\u2019s head of hair and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lemiema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mario Lemieux<\/a>. However, the duo of legends in Pittsburgh <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/crosbsi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sidney Crosby<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/malkiev01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evgeni Malkin<\/a> are also names that represent the Penguins well. Both have been a long time 1-2 punch down the middle for almost two decades now. But they might be separated this offseason as Evgeni Malkin needs a new contract. The long-time Pittsburgh Penguin is rumoured to be saying goodbye to the black and gold. Come free agency, he could have a new home.<\/p>\n<h2>Long Time Penguins Centre Could Have A New Home<\/h2>\n<p><em>Rumour: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.northstarbets.ca\/sportsbook\/insights#news\/article\/top-nhl-free-agents\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Johnston ranks his top 30 free agents and the updates on where they could end up.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ICYMI: The debut of CJ&#39;s Big Board. Ranking the NHL&#39;s top-30 pending free agents and updating where things stand with them. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lW6nu3mYSs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/lW6nu3mYSs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reporterchris\/status\/1542534765181407232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 30, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Evgeni Malkin Contract Status<\/h3>\n<p>Evgeni Malkin is at the top of the list and rightfully so. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/player\/evgeni-malkin-8471215#awards\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">One of the most decorated players currently playing in the NHL<\/a>, the star centre still has a lot left in the tank. Despite being injured and having yet to play an entire season in recent memory, he still has plenty to offer. Evgeni Malkin is coming off a contract that earned him $9.5 million per year, and even though he won&#8217;t cost that much he will not be cheap either.<\/p>\n<p>After a nagging knee injury that kept him out half the year, he had a roaring return to the ice. In 41 games played, he scored 20 goals, 22 assists, and 42 points. He became a point-per-game player and did not miss a beat when he returned to the ice. Spending his time between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/heineda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Danton Heinen<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kapanka01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kasperi Kapanen<\/a>, the line ranked fifth with 2.88 goals per 60 minutes.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hextaro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ron Hextall<\/a> would love to keep the Russian centre in Pittsburgh for the remainder of his career. With a new ownership group in town, they would love to keep the big-name centre as well and have him retire a Penguin. It would be very strange seeing Malkin in another sweater, but when all is said and done, 71 could be hanging in the rafters one day.<\/p>\n<h3>Teams That Should Offer A Contract<\/h3>\n<h4>Washington Capitals<\/h4>\n<p>This would be the weirdest given the history between the two clubs, but the shoe fits. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/capitals\/\" target=\"_self\">Washington Capitals<\/a> will be rumoured to be in on every centre available. After losing a star of their own, they could turn to another star. Evgeni Malkin could come on and slot next to fellow countrymen Alexander Ovechkin. It would be must-watch hockey, and if Malkin can stay healthy, the Russian duo could damage the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n<h4>Dallas Stars<\/h4>\n<p>The Dallas Stars have a new offensive-minded coach. The team also needs an injection of offence, as they were one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league. Granted, they need to sign goaltender <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/o\/oettija01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake Oettinger<\/a> and star winger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/roberja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason Robertson<\/a>, but grabbing Malkin to centre the second line and take pressure off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hintzro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roope Hintz<\/a> could go a long way to a team that is capable of contending in the Western Conference. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nillji01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Nill<\/a> may have to get creative with his cap space, but it is worth looking into.<\/p>\n<h4>Boston Bruins<\/h4>\n<p>Even though it has not been made official, long-time captain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergepa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrice Bergeron<\/a> will return to the team. The most glaring need on the team is having a centre to play behind him. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sweendo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Don Sweeney<\/a> does not have much to work with financially, but having Malkin between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=hallta02,hallta01&amp;search=Taylor+Hall&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taylor Hall<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pastrda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Pastrnak<\/a> would give the Bruins a lethal line. It is unlikely to happen but never say never. Malkin could remain in the black and gold just in a new city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When thinking of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the things that always come up are Jaromir Jagr\u2019s head of hair and Mario Lemieux. However, the duo of legends in Pittsburgh Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are also names that represent the Penguins well. Both have been a long time 1-2 punch down the middle for almost two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4194,"featured_media":130318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4321,4547,12],"tags":[588,544,1611,1570,1156,140],"class_list":["post-130286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rumours","category-hockey","category-penguins","tag-alexander-ovechkin","tag-evgeni-malkin","tag-jake-oettinger","tag-jason-robertson","tag-patrice-bergeron","tag-sidney-crosby"],"modified_by":"Luiza Vidal, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}