Malkin Should Be on Red Wings Wish List (DHN+)

The post Malkin Should Be on Red Wings Wish List (DHN+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The consensus is that the Detroit Red Wings, with plenty of cap space to use, will find nobody available in the unrestricted free agent markeplace.

But Evgeni Malkin isn’t nobody.

Malkin can be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Malkin wants to stay with the Penguins, but the Penguins are trying to rebuild and it’s far from a certainty they will re-sign him. The big Russian turns 40 in July. Pittsburgh fans want him back, but the NHL hasn’t yet signed off on the franchise’s new ownership group. We don’t know how the newcomers feel about retaining team stars.

The undercurrent is that Malkin, if the Penguins want him, could be re-signed on a one-year deal for $5 million. That seems like a good buy for a player who had 61 points in 56 games last season.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski pegs it at “50-50” that Malkin stays in Pittsburgh.

If Malkin doesn’t get a new deal with the Penguins, he has said he plans to play for another team.

If Malkin is a free agent on July 1, don’t the Red Wings, a team ranked 30th in the NHL in even-strength, have to make a call. Even playing only 56 games, Malkin produced a point total that would have ranked fourth on the Red Wings.

The Red Wings need to add a top six forward, preferably a center. The Penguins played Malkin at wing after his injury, but Kingerski says his feeling is Malkin would prefer to play center.

Malkin probably isn’t initially going to be enthralled at the prospect of joining a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade. But what if you ask him to center Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane? Or, see if he wants to play on the wing with Dylan Larkin at center and Lucas Raymond on the opposite.

Malkin certainly will know the history the Red Wings had with the Russian Five. Given the good feelings the Red Wings now have with former Detroit star Sergei Fedorov, wouldn’t he call Malkin to sell the idea of playing in Hockeytown?

Because Malkin is 40, the Red Wings shouldn’t offer multiple years. But they could offer him major money on a one-year deal.

“You can get in trouble giving out multiple-year deals,” an NHL GM once told me. “If you make a mistake on a multiple-year deal, it can haunt you. But you can overpay on a one-year deal. And maybe that player is the difference for you. But if it doesn’t work out, you aren’t paying for it for years. You have that cap space back the following season.”

With that logic in mind, could the Red Wings offer Malkin $7.5 million on a one-year deal? After the Red Wings re-sign Simon Edvinsson and Patrick Kane, they might have $15 million in cap space remaining. Malkin might be Detroit’s best available option.

He may end up going to Washington to play with Ovechkin or down to Florida to play with a quality team. But maybe he will go to the highest bidder. Some stars do that.

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