What direction the Pittsburgh Penguins go with Evgeni Malkin may depend on what he’s looking for
NHL Network: Elliotte Friedman, when asked about the Pittsburgh Penguins and where things are heading, and what he expects could happen with Evgeni Malkin. Some wonder if he wants some term and/or if he wants to play center or wing.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Mike Rupp: “You head to Pittsburgh, and Evgeni Malkin kind of has come out and said he’d like to continue playing in the National Hockey League, and he’s open to playing somewhere else. Where do you see this kind of shaken out here in Pittsburgh?
Friedman: “Well, the one, the thing Michael, is that I, the last time, if you remember, he was a free agent, the Penguins made the decision to walk away from him, and then when it really came time to do it, the wilted under the pressure. They couldn’t handle it.
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So I don’t think they want a repeat of this. I would expect that we’re going to know about this one way or the other pretty soon, because it’s clear as Malkin, like, Michael, you know, Malkin. Like, sometimes I listen to him, and he’s so funny, and he just blurts out stuff. I don’t know whether or not to take him seriously. But I took this pretty seriously .
So what it says to me is, I think they’re going to talk fast. You know, he did have, he was a point of game player. But the other thing too, I think, and this was another team that pointed this out, like, if you’re Pittsburgh and you’re marking, number one, if he wants term, is Pittsburgh going to want to do term? And number two, does he see himself as a center or a winger? Because he started the year at center and he finished as a winger.
So I think, like most people, kind of wonder a where does he see himself? And number two, does he want term? Because they could see Pittsburgh having a bit more concern about that. But I think we’re going to know fast. I don’t think they’re going to let it drag into what it turned into last time.
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