PITTSBURGH \u2014 It\u2019s not about winning another Stanley Cup together. They\u2019ve been there, done that, and at this stage, it\u2019s not reasonable.<\/p>\n
For Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, this is about something bigger. Call it a final act, call it a legacy. On some level, call it defiance, because that\u2019s what it feels like.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s about going out on their own terms, whenever that time comes.<\/p>\n
Crosby and Malkin aren\u2019t just a couple of iconic hockey players; they\u2019re also highly intelligent. They see what\u2019s going on. Slowly but surely, the Pittsburgh Penguins are rebuilding, getting younger and, more than anything, changing. In their most honest moments, Crosby, who\u2019s 38, and Malkin, 39, will acknowledge that Kyle Dubas has made many good decisions as the Penguins\u2019 general manager\/president and that getting younger was necessary. It\u2019s not that they disagree with Dubas\u2019 thinking. How could anyone? But that doesn\u2019t mean they have to like the team\u2019s trajectory.<\/p>\n
For the first time, one of the star players \u2014 Malkin \u2014 seems to feel like his days in Pittsburgh are numbered, because they probably are.<\/p>\n
When Malkin talks to the media these days, he often references the possibility that this could be his final season. The Penguins haven\u2019t offered him a new contract, and his current one expires in seven months. He has spoken openly about it several times since the beginning of training camp. He comes across as being somewhat understanding of the situation, given his age, but he also seems a little hurt.<\/p>\n
One by one over the years, Crosby and Malkin have been forced to say goodbye to so many of their favorite teammates. Sometimes, the salary cap was to blame. Other times, it was due to age. Or trades. Or free agency. On other occasions, it was just time.<\/p>\n
Giant names of Penguins past have come and gone during the Sid and Geno era: Max Talbot. Jordan Staal. Marc-Andre Fleury. Jake Guentzel. Patric Hornqvist. Matt Murray. Brian Dumoulin. Chris Kunitz. Pascal Dupuis.<\/p>\n
At some point this season, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell could follow.<\/p>\n
As one after another left Pittsburgh, Crosby and Malkin were reminded that this is an often-cold business. However, the Penguins were always built around those two, so even amid occasional discontent, there was always a sense of comfort. That\u2019s no longer the case, especially for Malkin. Sure, he\u2019s still the Penguins\u2019 No. 2 center, but he\u2019s not part of the future and perhaps not even the short-term future. He knows it, and so does Crosby.<\/p>\n
As a result, the Penguins legends are playing with \u2014 and speaking with \u2014 an edge right now. They don\u2019t intend their final days together in a Penguins uniform, if that is the case, to be a disappointment, or more of the same, or a tank job for Gavin McKenna.<\/p>\n
More than a year ago, I asked Malkin if he could retire without ever reaching the postseason again. He said no.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould hurt too much,\u201d he said, expressing that he didn\u2019t want his last taste of playoff hockey to have come in 2022 at Madison Square Garden \u2014 in overtime of Game 7, no less.<\/p>\n
So, what can Crosby and Malkin do here?<\/p>\n
Crosby still has power because he\u2019s Crosby, for one. He\u2019s the team captain, for another. And his play hasn\u2019t really diminished at all. If Dubas were to build a juggernaut in the next few years, it\u2019s reasonable to assume that Crosby would still be thriving as a top-six center because he\u2019s built a little differently than anyone else.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t only about Crosby, though. It\u2019s about Sid and Geno together.<\/p>\n
Malkin doesn\u2019t have much power left. If indeed the Penguins feel it\u2019s time to move on following this season, they will. Crosby surely wouldn\u2019t like it, but Dubas isn\u2019t afraid to upset him. You can\u2019t blame him for that, because he was hired to build the team in his vision.<\/p>\n
Team sources have told me that because he loves playing for the Penguins and isn\u2019t ready to be shown the door, Malkin would stick around for less money and accept a lesser role. But times change, and the Penguins have to go younger.<\/p>\n
So, the duo doesn\u2019t have as much leverage as you\u2019d think, but the Vancouver Canucks are in town Tuesday night. Then, the Penguins travel to Florida and then back home to face Columbus. This is where Crosby and, more so, Malkin, still have power.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s wildly unlikely that these Penguins will make the playoffs. Sure, they\u2019re 4-2 and have been better than anticipated in the first six games, but it\u2019s only six games. They could lose their next five in a row, and no one would be shocked. Of course, you never know.<\/p>\n
Crosby is off to a slightly slow start, but in his mid-to-late 30s, Crosby hasn\u2019t tended to get hot until the holiday season. Malkin has been a revelation<\/a> early this season, putting up nine points in six games. He won\u2019t maintain that pace, and he faded badly in the second half of last season, but maybe he has one final push left in him.<\/p>\n Crosby and Malkin know this could be it. Their final season together. The end. They aren\u2019t invested in tanking. Rebuilds aren\u2019t their thing. If you look at the schedule, you\u2019ll note that the final game of the season is in St. Louis on April 14. The two games before that are against the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n Do you think Malkin wants his last NHL game to be on a Tuesday night in St. Louis? Worse yet, do you think Malkin wants his final two games to come against Alex Ovechkin, who very well could be preparing for another trip to the postseason with the resurgent Capitals?<\/p>\n Nah, I didn\u2019t think so, either.<\/p>\n The Penguins\u2019 roster is flawed and in transition. They\u2019re projected to be one of the NHL\u2019s worst teams this season. Perhaps that will come to fruition.<\/p>\n