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Penguins May Consider Position Change for Evgeni Malkin as Trade Rumblings for a New Center Heat Up
The Penguins are looking to add some firepower this off-season, and then and only then, they may look to shift Evgeni Malkin to one specific wing spot.
The Pittsburgh Penguins still have two veteran stars in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and as long as both are leading the way, this organization is clearly optimistic about their chances of pushing for a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth.
That leads them to this off-season, a summer where the team will look to add some big name talents to their organization, and one goal of the organization is reportedly to give Malkin some stability, according to Kyle Dubas.
"It was a rotating cast of characters for Geno, and I think that's hard. I know he's had that a lot in his time here, and he's a different player than Sid... where Sid seems to get locked in, they roll and maintain an elite level of performance. Geno seems to, even before I got here, it was always different guys could come and go, and it really wouldn't faze him. I think that's a real testament to Geno and what's he's about. He's able to find a way to make it work.
"I think as he continues to age, we have to do a better job of making the support more consistent."
"I think as he continues to age, we have to do a better job of making the support more consistent."
Now, it's been revealed by the Hockey News that their addition could indeed be a centre, and if that's the case, we could see Malkin himself shift to the wing, but to make that happen according to Kelsey Surmacz, he'd need to move alongside long-time teammate Sidney Crosby.
Already we've seen the Penguins linked to the likes of Marco Rossi this off-season, and with a veteran name like Jonathan Toews or Sam Bennett in free agency, options are out there for this team to fill the 2C role and shift Malkin to play the wing alongside Crosby.
Ultimately, it's more likely than not that if Pittsburgh don't move Rickard Rakell, they'll play him and a young name alongside No. 71, but in the off chance that they can find a star centre to join this organization, perhaps shifting Malkin to the wing on the Pens top line could be the move to reinvigorate his career.
| POLL | ||
MAI 29 | 188 ANSWERS Penguins May Consider Position Change for Evgeni Malkin as Trade Rumblings for a New Center Heat Up Will the Penguins land a big time centre this off-season? | ||
| Yes | 85 | 45.2 % |
| No | 103 | 54.8 % |
| List of polls | ||