Brian Sickles: Evgeni Malkin and the Capitals

The best Russian in the NHL is not leaving Pittsburgh. Mngmnt will find a way to re-sign him.
You guys should go after Nichuskin or Trochek.

I doubt 3 years and $7.5m/year is beyond what Pittsburgh will offer (or many other teams). Guessing if he is leaving PIT it's for more than a 3+years and/or $8m+/yr. Malkin is great if healthy. He is rarely healthy for long.

The best Russian in the NHL is not leaving Pittsburgh. Mngmnt will find a way to re-sign him.
You guys should go after Nichuskin or Trochek.
- Barnaby36

What was Kaprizov doing in Pittsburgh?

Yakupov or Grigorenko are already out of the NHL though

What was Kaprizov doing in Pittsburgh?
- Feds91Stammer

Must’ve been hanging out with Vasy/Shesty

According to the HockeyBuzz Cap Central, the Capitals have $8,978,334 in cap space. If you factor in Backstrom's 9.2M, that is approximately $18,178,334 to spend in the market.

- Brian Sickles

Not exactly how LTIR works

Not exactly how LTIR works
- jmatchett383

You are correct. Here is a high level look at how it works according to puckpedia:

https://puckpedia.com/salary-cap/LTIR

The Caps will do everything in their power to leverage LTIR. It may not be his entire contract value but it will a bulk of it. Thank you!

I doubt 3 years and $7.5m/year is beyond what Pittsburgh will offer (or many other teams). Guessing if he is leaving PIT it's for more than a 3+years and/or $8m+/yr. Malkin is great if healthy. He is rarely healthy for long.
- jfkst1

Makes sense. No reason PIT cant offer him that deal.

The best Russian in the NHL is not leaving Pittsburgh. Mngmnt will find a way to re-sign him.
You guys should go after Nichuskin or Trochek.
- Barnaby36

I think Nichushkin finally found a home in COL. I do like Trocheck as well. Trochek is from PIT so it would be interesting to see if that transpires at all. Thanks for the comment.

Did anyone just watch the two teams in the finals? A 36 year old Malkin at 7+ million gets you no closer to teams with championship rosters. Dude should just stay in Pitt at a 'discount' (whatever that means), help them sell a few more tickets to the only fanbase he's ever known, then go out gracefully with a banner raising ceremony in a couple years. Time and youth has passed by both the Pitt and Wash franchises. Embrace your long time core rosters and be happy with simply making the playoffs until these guys retire.

The best Russian in the NHL is not leaving Pittsburgh. Mngmnt will find a way to re-sign him.
You guys should go after Nichuskin or Trochek.
- Barnaby36

Pitts would have resigned him already.

There is absolutely no reason to think Pitts will have a different outcome with the same people as they get older.

Pitts should have traded Letang and Malkin for quality assets.

Its tough when these are homegrown stars, but as a Devil fan, I wanted Marty to get traded before our last cup run because he would have made the rebuild faster with the haul.

Pitts should save the cash in case Mckinnon hits UFA.

Pitts would have resigned him already.

There is absolutely no reason to think Pitts will have a different outcome with the same people as they get older.

Pitts should have traded Letang and Malkin for quality assets.

Its tough when these are homegrown stars, but as a Devil fan, I wanted Marty to get traded before our last cup run because he would have made the rebuild faster with the haul.

Pitts should save the cash in case Mckinnon hits UFA.
- Leniwm1

Sid needs to do his LeBron-type recruiting to bring his friend to Pittsburgh.

In all seriousness, I didnt realize MacKinnon was a longtime Avs fan growing up. I'd put the odds he leaves Colorado at less than 5%.

Did anyone just watch the two teams in the finals? A 36 year old Malkin at 7+ million gets you no closer to teams with championship rosters. Dude should just stay in Pitt at a 'discount' (whatever that means), help them sell a few more tickets to the only fanbase he's ever known, then go out gracefully with a banner raising ceremony in a couple years. Time and youth has passed by both the Pitt and Wash franchises. Embrace your long time core rosters and be happy with simply making the playoffs until these guys retire.
- greenyone

A healthy Malkin is better than almost any 2C in the league. Kadri or Miller might be comparable replacements, but they won't be cheap either. Malkin's contract and health are the issues.

A healthy Malkin is better than almost any 2C in the league. Kadri or Miller might be comparable replacements, but they won't be cheap either. Malkin's contract and health are the issues.
- jfkst1

And age...it eventually catches everyone (except for Jagr). You don't want to be on the hook when it comes calling.

So for years it has been he sucks. Never shows up. Always injured. Now you want him? So sad.

So for years it has been he sucks. Never shows up. Always injured. Now you want him? So sad.
- Doogs

It's just tribal nature to nitpick on a guy on the other side. Give it a rest man. He's still a solid #2 center when he's healthy. If healthy he'd be a great deadline pickup for a playoff team. Problem is that he probably wants term that even Pittsburgh is reluctant to offer him...at any price. I kinda feel he's either gonna have to take a huge discount on a 2-3 year deal to stay with Pitt or take larger 1 year deal with a non-contender. If he does the latter I can see him ending up with a bubble team like Washington or even an injury replacement for a legit contender at the deadline.

It's just tribal nature to nitpick on a guy on the other side. Give it a rest man. He's still a solid #2 center when he's healthy. If healthy he'd be a great deadline pickup for a playoff team. Problem is that he probably wants term that even Pittsburgh is reluctant to offer him...at any price. I kinda feel he's either gonna have to take a huge discount on a 2-3 year deal to stay with Pitt or take larger 1 year deal with a non-contender. If he does the latter I can see him ending up with a bubble team like Washington or even an injury replacement for a legit contender at the deadline.
- greenyone

Lately, he's been the guy you need to replace because of injury, not the other way around.