LeBrun: Malkin, Pens still struggling to find common ground on contract

[jmelm]

I would be focusing on dumping Pettersson or another dman to hopefully sign Geno and an actual top 6 winger. I would stop trying to make Geno’s life harder by playing him with depth players.

I’d go with 4 years, $6 million AAV. We already signed Letang for another 6 years. You might as well go for it now since they aren’t considering a rebuild.

4 years x $6M is what I would do as well. But I would try to sign Kadri for 2C and play Malkin on W.

They will move out one of the contracts. Most likely Zucker + a 2nd rounder if I had to guess.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Going to be hard to sign him, after giving Letang a 6 year deal until he’s 41. Didn’t get the term on that one.

 

[Pens x]

4 years x $6M is what I would do as well. But I would try to sign Kadri for 2C and play Malkin on W.

They will move out one of the contracts. Most likely Zucker + a 2nd rounder if I had to guess.

If he moves out someone and finds a legitimate second line player, I will be happy. However, I can’t see him being that proactive.

 

[RangerBoy]

$7m/3y seems accurate to me

4 years/$32M.

 

[HFpapi]

I feel like the Pens are in a really tough spot here.

I’m sure they feel a sense of appreciation for all Malkin has done for the franchise and since he wants to stay, maybe feel an obligation to negotiate with him. Furthermore, they don’t want the bad PR from fans or the locker room for any perceived slight towards a club legend who, again, wants to be there.

That said, from a hockey management POV, nobody can blame the Pens for not wanting to give him more than 3 years at this point and in fact don’t think they can be blamed if they don’t want him back at all. He’s always injured and continues to take horrendous penalties at inopportune times without the dominance that previously made it tolerable.

Moving on from Malkin seems like the right thing to do hockey wise but I think there is too much pressure to get a deal done for loyalty reasons. Toews is a cautionary tale in that respect.

 

[jmelm]

4 years/$32M.

LOL. You know that Malkin isn't even asking for $8M, right?

The Pens won't give him $8M/year on a 1 year deal.

I don't believe the Pens would do 3 years x $7M either. So if they're going 4 years, it's to get the cap hit closer to or the same as Letang's is.

 

[Zbynek]

I feel like the Pens are in a really tough spot here.

I’m sure they feel a sense of appreciation for all Malkin has done for the franchise and since he wants to stay, maybe feel an obligation to negotiate with him. Furthermore, they don’t want the bad PR from fans or the locker room for any perceived slight towards a club legend who, again, wants to be there.

That said, from a hockey management POV, nobody can blame the Pens for not wanting to give him more than 3 years at this point and in fact don’t think they can be blamed if they don’t want him back at all. He’s always injured and continues to take horrendous penalties at inopportune times without the dominance that previously made it tolerable.

Moving on from Malkin seems like the right thing to do hockey wise but I think there is too much pressure to get a deal done for loyalty reasons. Toews is a cautionary tale in that respect.

Except Malkin just outscored Toews playing half as many games and coming back from serious knee surgery. Not on the same level.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Except Malkin just outscored Toews playing half as many games and coming back from serious knee surgery. Not on the same level.

Yep and Toews just came back from a year away from hockey.

 

[HFpapi]

Except Malkin just outscored Toews playing half as many games and coming back from serious knee surgery. Not on the same level.

the comparison is a loyalty contract that clearly isn't what's best for the franchise that predictably ages poorly, not ppg.

Playing "Half as many games coming off serious knee surgery" is exactly the issue.

 

[mighty Stanley Duck]

LOL. You know that Malkin isn't even asking for $8M, right?

The Pens won't give him $8M/year on a 1 year deal.

I don't believe the Pens would do 3 years x $7M either. So if they're going 4 years, it's to get the cap hit closer to or the same as Letang's is.

I would be surprised if Malkin is open for 6mil per year, that's quite a dropoff from his usual salary.

 

[Zbynek]

the comparison is a loyalty contract that clearly isn't what's best for the franchise that predictably ages poorly, not ppg.

Playing "Half as many games coming off serious knee surgery" is exactly the issue.

But if we're talking about giving him a new contract his skill has everything to do with it. Especially if he was just able to rally back from serious knee surgery and still went over 1.0 ppg. That has everything to do with what you define, "a loyalty contract".

 

[TheStatican]

Welcome to Colorado.

I'd be down with that.
Pens are my favorite team but Malkin is my favorite active player, but honestly he'd have a better shot at winning a 4th cup there.

I don't know if I could ever forgive him if he went to a rival like the Caps or Flyers and it would make little sense going to a weaker team. But the Avs? That makes sense, plus they're a team I respect. They're not cheaters and there's no scandals tied to them, they win the right way so I'm ok with it. Gets my seal of approval as a Malkin and Pens fan if he doesn't resign

 

[Mighty Makar]

I'd be down with that.
Pens are my favorite team but Malkin is my favorite active player, but honestly he'd have a better shot at winning a 4th cup there.

I don't know if I could ever forgive him if he went to a rival like the Caps or Flyers and it would make little sense going to a weaker team. But the Avs? That makes sense, plus they're a team I respect. They're not cheaters and there's no scandals tied to them, they win the right way so I'm ok with it. Gets my seal of approval as a Malkin and Pens fan if he doesn't resign

 

[cool beans]

I'd like to see him switch teams just for the sake of something different. Would like to see him sign with nashville but i bet he ends up somewhere like Carolina, Florida, or Washington if he leaves pittsburgh

 

[chaser17]

Kind of a joke that carter was re-upped before Geno. Also surprised he wants more than 3 years though, figured he'd be eyeing the KHL up for his retirement tour like so many other russians.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Do it, Washington

 

[KrisLeturnover]

Is this a fake stuff, or real?

on twitter, Malkin replied to Penguins Kris Letang 6 year contract news;
i hope that i don't have to be play against you, Kris Letang,
he also stopped following Pittsburgh Penguins twitter account.

As @AvroArrow said, the unfollowing of social media is fake news. The comment appears to be real, but I think it's probably Geno saying he actually just doesn't want to be playing for another team.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

Do it Hextall and soon. Checking HFBoards every 5 minutes isn’t good for my productivity.

 

[Cape]

Kind of a joke that carter was re-upped before Geno. Also surprised he wants more than 3 years though, figured he'd be eyeing the KHL up for his retirement tour like so many other russians.

Can’t believe that they gave Carter 2*3,125.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

Can’t believe that they gave Carter 2*3,125.

100% agree. Dude has scored 56 points in 90 games for the Pens. How do you get him at such great terms?

 

[LeHab]

5 years by a contender, last two on LTIR.

 

[ViD]

Is this a fake stuff, or real?

on twitter, Malkin replied to Penguins Kris Letang 6 year contract news;
i hope that i don't have to be play against you, Kris Letang,
he also stopped following Pittsburgh Penguins twitter account.

This is true, he did post that. He also resubscribed to the Pens social media

 

[jmelm]

I would be surprised if Malkin is open for 6mil per year, that's quite a dropoff from his usual salary.

"Usual salary"?

Sure, that's true and also highly appropriate. His "usual" salary of $9.5M was a contract he signed he was one of the top 2 or 3 centres in the NHL, in his prime, and at a time when the cap was going up a lot every season.

An older player who's starting to decline getting a pay cut you say? How utterly normal. I think at some point guys like Jagr, Thornton and others got paycuts from their "usual" salary once they hit a certain age.

If the Penguins go 4 years @ $24M total money that's front-loaded and signing bonus heavy, I'd like to know how many teams are willing to substantially outbid that to the point that if Malkin's heart is truly in Pittsburgh, that it's enough he should leave the Penguins for.

Ok so some team might give him $8M x 3 years to equal the same money? (though I'm still waiting for someone to tell me which team that is). But that wouldn't be MORE money. So is a team going to give him $8M x 4 years? No. $7M x 4 years? Maybe, but good chance not, given his propensity for injury. Even still, if there was a team that offered that, so Malkin could retire having earned $146M instead of "only" $142? I'm sorry, I just don't see that being enough to move the needle for him to leave town.

 

[Pens x]

Kind of a joke that carter was re-upped before Geno. Also surprised he wants more than 3 years though, figured he'd be eyeing the KHL up for his retirement tour like so many other russians.

Hextall is a joke

 

[bigdaddyk88]

Hextall is a joke

His job is to keep the eye playoff streak going and rebuild the minors. Just needs to move on 4 million dollar LD sooner than later