If you\u2019ve been checking the NHL\u2019s Eastern Conference standings, you\u2019ll notice a surprising team near the top of the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins, who entered the season as a first-overall pick favorite, have shocked everyone by remaining in the hunt to this point in the season.<\/p>\n
Your eyes aren\u2019t deceiving you; the Penguins have been that good this year, despite a disastrous stretch in December that saw them drop nine of 10 games and blow multiple three-goal third-period leads. But with every Penguins win, it becomes clearer that many of the veterans on the trading block will be sticking around for this year and perhaps beyond.<\/p>\n
One of those veterans is 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin<\/a>, who at the start of this year seemed like a potential trade candidate, or at the very least, a player who wouldn\u2019t play in Pittsburgh beyond the 2025-26 season. With the Penguins in the hunt, young prospects turning to NHLers, the team holding onto other veterans, and Malkin turning back the clock, is it possible the Penguins offer Malkin an extension to stick around beyond this season?<\/p>\n The Blake Lizotte<\/a> signing last week<\/a> reveals a lot about where the Penguins\u2019 general manager, Kyle Dubas, feels the team is right now. If he thought the team wasn\u2019t a playoff team this year, he likely would\u2019ve been working the phones to move the depth center for picks or prospects, as he has been collecting those types of pieces for the better part of two years.<\/p>\n But Lizotte\u2019s extension signals a change in philosophy, sort of. Dubas has been a bargain shopper for the last two summers, and even though Lizotte received a raise in his new deal, it could turn out to be a bargain if he plays the way he has this season.<\/p>\n That leads us back to Malkin. When Dubas spoke about the future Hall of Famer before this season, he likely believed he would be selling off assets towards the trade deadline and overseeing the third and possibly final year of the Penguins\u2019 retool.<\/p>\n But the team and Malkin have surprised everyone thus far, and as the Penguins play more hockey, it becomes increasingly clear that Malkin can still produce. Just look at the ten-game stretch in December when they couldn\u2019t buy a win.<\/p>\n Who wasn\u2019t in their lineup for that? Malkin.<\/p>\n Malkin returned to the Penguins lineup on Jan. 8 and made an immediate impact, scoring a power-play marker on a one-timer from Sidney Crosby<\/a>. He missed over a month with a shoulder injury, and Pittsburgh badly missed him on their second line.<\/p>\n His return didn\u2019t exactly spark the team, as they had won five in a row leading up to it, but he certainly didn\u2019t hurt, and Pittsburgh has gone 4-2-2 since he\u2019s come back.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s also the optics of signing Malkin. With Kris Letang<\/a> and Crosby still in the fold, signing \u2018Geno\u2019 would mean the big three playing another season together in their record-setting run, which would surely be a feel-good story, especially if more young Penguins graduate to the NHL and make an impact.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh could see Rutger McGroarty<\/a>, Harrison Brunicke<\/a>, Sergey Murashov<\/a>, and Tristan Broz<\/a> all jump to the NHL next season, which would be a massive youth movement for the team.<\/p>\n With these young pieces mixed in with Pittsburgh\u2019s big three, as well as Erik Karlsson<\/a>, Bryan Rust<\/a>, Rickard Rakell<\/a>, and Thomas Novak<\/a>, there is the potential to make some noise in the Eastern Conference. Especially for a team that is armed with over $50MM in available cap space and an army surplus store full of draft picks in the subsequent three drafts.<\/p>\n The last time the Penguins had this level of youth in their pipeline was 2015, when Rust, Matt Murray<\/a>, Conor Sheary<\/a>, Tom Kuhnhackl<\/a>, Scott Wilson<\/a>, and eventually Jake Guentzel<\/a> all jumped to the NHL, and Pittsburgh won back-to-back Stanley Cups. That\u2019s not to say Pittsburgh is on the verge of a mini-dynasty in the twilight years of Malkin\u2019s career.<\/p>\n Still, if they are on the verge of being competitive at all, which it looks like they could be, Malkin deserves to stick around with his buddies, especially if he can contribute rather than just partake in a nostalgia tour.<\/p>\n So, what should the Penguins do with one of the most beloved Penguins ever? It feels like it\u2019s time to sign him to an extension.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh has the cap space, Malkin isn\u2019t going to ask for the moon, and there really isn\u2019t a Malkin replacement available in free agency. He also doesn\u2019t need to be a center at this stage of his career and is quite competent on the wing, as he showed last season playing alongside Crosby on the top line.<\/p>\n It was reported last summer<\/a> by Penguins play-by-play voice Josh Getzoff that Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas planned to meet with Malkin during the Olympic break, and as of right now, that appears to be the plan. But what could a Malkin deal look like?<\/p>\n It could be pretty straightforward. Take the framework of the Jonathan Toews<\/a> contract with the Winnipeg Jets<\/a> this season and perhaps double the guarantee.<\/p>\n