The Pittsburgh Penguins are essentially playing with house money this season. What was expected to be a dismal season at the beginning of a rebuild has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. As of this writing, the Penguins sit second in the Atlantic Division, albeit in a dog fight with several other teams for a handful of playoff spots.
Which is just one of the many reasons that letting superstar franchise players Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin depart – either through trade or free agency – would be not only foolish, but disrespectful.
Malkin & Crosby Have Unmatched Legacies
Crosby and Malkin have the kind of legacies, both singularly and cumulatively, that don’t happen often. Like “once if your franchise is lucky.” Consider the combined resumes of the duo:
- 3 Stanley Cups
- 4 Art Ross Trophies
- 4 Lester B. Pearson/Ted Lindsay Awards
- 3 Hart Trophies
- 3 Conn Smythe Trophies
- 2 Rocket Richard Awards
- And a Partridge in a Pear Tree (or a Calder Trophy)
Not impressive enough for you? How about nearly 1,200 combined goals, almost 2,000 cumulative assists, and more than 3,100 total points. The duo have been the face of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey for two decades now.
Those are the legacies that get talked about for decades after they’ve hung up the skates. Those are the legacies that deserve to be respected and revered, even if the direction of the team is skewing younger and younger all the time. Talk of trading either is patently ludicrous unless one of them goes to management and asks to be traded (Crosby) or not come back on a new deal (Malkin).
There is Something to be Said of Loyalty
In today’s NHL, loyalty isn’t really a thing. We hear all the time that if Wayne Gretzky can be traded, who could ever be safe? But the notion of trading Sidney Crosby – with rumors popping up all the time – is absolutely ludicrous. To a lesser degree, letting Malkin walk as a free agent is the same thing.
Related: Sidney Crosby’s Return Provides Timely Boost for the Penguins
Crosby came in at a time when the Penguins franchise was fresh out of bankruptcy and in need of a star to save it. Malkin joining the season after and helping form the best duo in the NHL helped fuel the franchise to unparalleled success.
While keeping an eye on the future is necessary, there is something to be said about loyalty. Can you imagine Nicklas Lidstrom or Steve Yzerman wearing a different uniform? What about Joe Sakic? Or even the prior face of the franchise himself, Mario Lemieux?
Both Crosby and Malkin have both meant the world to this franchise through thick and thin. Shouldn’t they both be given the option to leave on their own terms if that is their desire? Most franchises would kill to have one of those careers play out for their team, let alone two. That kind of performance should earn you the choice to stay.
Dubas Has Built the Penguins for the Future
It might be one thing if the Penguins were against the salary cap, rudderless, and needed a jolt to get moving in the direction of the future. But the Penguins have good, young pieces and general manager Kyle Dubas had a strong trade deadline without making a team currently in the playoffs substantially worse.
The Penguins have a plethora of cap space to work with in the short-term and will likely move defenseman Erik Karlsson for even more assets either in the offseason or next trade deadline, not to mention his $11.5 million AAV. They also have a plethora of premium draft picks to work with.
The future is moving as Dubas envisions, so why cut bait with two pillars of the franchise when it isn’t necessary? Letting the two walk away as Penguins for life is the kind of thing that fans of the franchise don’t forget. The fact that they are getting at least one more playoff run is just icing on the cake.
Let the Superstars Go Out on Their Terms
Both players are in similar yet different boats. Crosby is still under contract, whereas Malkin is set to become an unrestricted free agent. The latter makes $6.1 million this season and even a slight raise should be a no-brainer for the Penguins on a deal of one or two years.
The Penguins are already back in the thick of the playoffs and Dubas is being given credit for retooling rather than rebuilding. But he shouldn’t be quick to forget that a major part of that has to do with his aging superstars. Both of whom should be Penguins for life.
