Penguins GM: Evgeni Malkin is not available in trade talks
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has no interest in trading superstar forward Evgeni Malkin.
By
Adam Gretz
•
2 min read
Every summer there is always at least one trade rumor (or a trade suggestion) that involves Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin.
And every summer he remains with the Penguins. He is likely to do so once again this summer.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on Thursday that Malkin is not available and that there is no interest from either side -- team or player -- in moving him.
More from Rutherford, via the Post-Gazette:
"No, he’s not available,” Rutherford said flatly. "Based on my communications with him or with his agent, he does not have an interest [in a trade]. He loves Pittsburgh and he wants to win here. Like everybody else, he’s disappointed with us not reaching our goal. He played hurt. He actually played when most guys wouldn’t play. There’s no interest from either side [the club’s or the player’s] in moving him."
The basis for Malkin trade talk every years always centers on any number of areas, from the Penguins salary cap situation to the team's constant need to add more depth to a lineup that has become increasingly top-heavy in recent seasons. Even though it's true that Penguins have become too top-heavy and are too reliant on just a small handful of players, trading one of the team's few valuable assets isn't likely to fix it.
Even with Malkin and Sidney Crosby taking up a significant portion of the team's salary cap space, their current roster structure isn't all that different from any other contending team in the league. And you don't trade a world-class, elite player for depth. Quantity for quality trades with that type of player almost never work out for the team that is trading the star.
Malkin remains under contract with the Penguins through the 2019-20 season at a salary cap hit of $9.5 million per season.
He remains one of the most productive players in the NHL, finishing the 2014-15 season 70 points (28 goals, 42 assists) in 69 games. In his career with the Penguins he has won two NHL scoring titles and a Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP during the team's Stanley Cup winning season in 2009.
Since Malkin entered the NHL prior to the 2006-07 season the only player in the league (minimum 100 games played) that has averaged more points than Malkin's 1.20 is Crosby (1.38).
