World champion and Chicago scout Andrei Nikolishin in an interview with , he named the reason for the Russian centre-forward’s disagreement Evgenia Malkina with Pittsburgh under a new contract.
Earlier, the 35-year-old Russian said he would like to end his playing career in the “Pittsburgh penguins ”, declaring his love for the city and the local fans. As a member of the team, Malkin became a three-time Stanley Cup winner.
– To understand what Pittsburgh’s strategy is towards Malkin, you need to know how much free money the club has under the “salary cap” and who in the team can be traded. It is from there that the situation develops around Malkin’s future contract.
That’s not to say Pittsburgh doesn’t want to extend Malkin’s contract. It all depends on the “ceiling”. And all this talk about grievances between Malkin and the club … Zhenya unsubscribed from the club’s social media account, subscribed – all this makes no sense. People just don’t understand what is really going on,” Nikolishin told .
– That is to say that there are no grievances between Malkin and Pittsburgh?
– Of course, nothing personal, just business. If Pittsburgh can go below the salary cap by negotiating a new contract with Malkin, they will gladly do so. And if they don’t fit, they can trade it.
– I remember Ovechkin’s new contract with Washington. There, no one doubted that the parties would agree. But Malkin is not inferior to Ovechkin in talent. Why is there a slightly different attitude towards him in Pittsburgh?
“Because Pittsburgh still has Crosby. Sidney and Zhenya are two unique centre-forwards. They are both in the lead. Still, Crosby is preferred. He is the captain of the team and theoretically the center of the first link.
– It turns out that Malkin was unlucky to be on the same team as Crosby? In any other, would there be a clear single leader and unchallenged authority?
What, no luck? Malkin won three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh. Yes, he could be number one on the other team and win nothing. So ask Zhenya himself what is more important to him – three Cups or the role of an undisputed leader? The answer is obvious. I think Malkin was very lucky. Including the fact that he played on par with Crosby at the same club.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
