A mock trade making the rounds today sends Evgeni Malkin from the Penguins to the Wild. It is a fan-built idea, not a report.
The idea lands while Malkin's future is already the loudest storyline in Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin's three-team trade list is something he is set to submit to the Penguins, and any talk of destinations now draws attention.
He is not exactly fading away, either. Malkin collected three assists in last night's 5-2 win in Los Angeles, and he sits at 14 points in 15 games this season.
The Penguins are still 6-9-2, though, and they play in Anaheim tonight. That record is why the trade chatter has legs.
In the mock, Pittsburgh sends Malkin to Minnesota with 50% of his salary retained. The Penguins get winger Bobby Brink, center Hunter Haight and a 2027 first-round pick back.
Brink is a 25-year-old right winger with 9 points in 19 games for the Wild this season. Haight is a 22-year-old center, a second-round pick of the Wild in 2022, who has not played an NHL game this season and has just 2 points in 9 career games.
IceMetrix posted the proposal and asked fans a simple question: who says no?
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For Pittsburgh, the appeal is obvious. They would be adding a young forward who is already producing, a prospect-age center and a first-rounder for a 40-year-old whose contract is up at season's end. It is also a different path than the one hinted at in Sidney Crosby's reunion with Malkin on a line.
Would the Wild actually say yes?
Almost certainly not, and the reason is the first-round pick. Minnesota is 12-3-4 with a +20 goal differential, a team that lost 3-4 in overtime to Tampa Bay last night and does not look like a club that needs to mortgage its future.
Giving up two young players and a first for what amounts to a rental, even a discounted one, is a bad deal for the Wild. Malkin would add star power to the power play, but Brink and Haight both carry team control, and Brink is a restricted free agent at season's end.
Nothing here comes from a team or a reporter. The Wild play next Tuesday in Montreal, the Penguins are on the ice tonight, and Malkin's list still has until January to land on a desk.
Quick hits
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Tomas Hertl scored twice as Vegas punished every Sabres mistake in a 4-1 win in Buffalo tonight. Danny Webster's final shows a team that cashed in when it got chances.
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GOALIE MATCHUP: Erik Erlendsson confirmed that Stuart Skinner starts for the Jets tonight against Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning. It is a tough assignment for a goalie whose run has been shaky.
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NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Coach Sheldon Keefe says Anthony Mantha "will miss some time," and he is out tonight in Toronto. The Devils will need to find depth quickly.
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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Yanni Gourde makes his season debut tonight in Winnipeg, according to Eddie in the Yard. An early return gives the Lightning a boost up front.
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FLORIDA PANTHERS: Jack Studley reports that the referees sent Matthew Tkachuk down the tunnel with 8:08 left in the third period in Boston. Panthers fans will be waiting for answers.
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Should the Wild give up Bobby Brink, Hunter Haight and a first-round pick for Evgeni Malkin?
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