Evgeni Malkin spoke with reporters in Russia about his 2018-19 NHL season when he joined the national team earlier this month.
"I had a bad season and I’m going to get out of the pit," he told reporters in Russian. "Sometimes, criticism is justified. This time, it’s probably justified.”
There was plenty to criticize in Malkin's season, but there was a lot of good, too. I'll take a look at the bad, the good, and where things go from here.
THE BAD
Malkin led the Penguins in giveaways this season with 84.
Playmaking is inherently risky, and that's evident by looking at the next three players on the giveaway rankings -- Phil Kessel (78), Kris Letang (76) and Sidney Crosby (67). Crosby's a great playmaker, yet even he commits his fair share of turnovers despite having arguably the best two-way game in the league. So, you should expect Malkin's count to be high, as well.
Still, some of Malkin's giveaways this season were more egregious and avoidable.
It started on opening night against the Capitals. The Penguins were holding on to a two-goal lead with seven minutes remaining in the third period. Malkin tries to flip the puck to Kessel -- who, to be fair, didn't exactly get himself into optimal positioning to start a breakout. The puck instead sails directly to T.J. Oshie, who quickly ... well ... capitalizes:
That goal gave the Capitals life, and they tied the game 21 seconds later. The Penguins did win in overtime, but it didn't need to get there, giving a point to a division rival in the result.
"One of the ways to become easy to play against, or one of the easiest ways to beat yourself, is to mismanage the puck," Mike Sullivan said after the game. "This is an ongoing conversation with our players because part of our DNA is that we have playmakers; that we have guys who instinctively want to make plays, who are difference-makers. We’re trying to challenge them to make sure they’re diligent and that they have situational awareness in mind. We’ll get better at that, but that’ll be a conversation that takes place all year long.”
Some of those turnovers just came from Malkin going for the flashy play. In Game 4 against the Islanders, he attempted this no-look spin-o-rama move in a tight, tied game, and it led to a turnover:
Malkin finished with a plus/minus of minus-25 this season, the worst of his career by a 19-point margin. That's explained in part by his giveaway count, but straight defensive lapses also played a role.
The Penguins fell 6-3 in Chicago in January, and Malkin's work during the Blackhawks' game-winning goal was just inexplicable. Andreas Martinsen skated into the left corner as Malkin was approaching, then Malkin just ... turned the other way. Martinsen was left open to make the pass to Marcus Kruger, who buried it:
It also didn't help that Malkin had the worst faceoff percentage —45.68 — of all of the Penguins' regular centers.
Malkin's discipline was another one of his weaknesses. He finished the regular season with 89 penalty minutes in 65 games, the highest on the team, nearly double the player second on the list (Letang, 48 PIM) of those who spent the entire season with the Penguins. It was the second-highest single-season total of his career, and the highest since the 2009-10 season. He kept up a similar pace in the small sample size that was the Penguins' playoff run, taking three minor penalties in four games.
One of those penalties was this hook on Devon Toews in Game 2 of the playoffs. It's hard to imagine a hook more blatant:
Stick infractions like that one were especially frequent for Malkin. He was called for tripping five times, hooking seven times, slashing six times, and cross-checking once during the regular season.
Malkin also had instances of just being baited into taking a dumb penalty. The Islanders were targeting Malkin in Game 2, and he was visibly frustrated. Shortly after being targeted by Cal Clutterbuck, Malkin crosschecked Leo Komarov.
The penalty didn’t cost the Penguins much, Komarov was penalized for roughing, but it caused the Penguins to be without Malkin’s services for two minutes. Komarov is a third-liner. That was not an even trade. Malkin has to be smarter than that.
THE GOOD
Malkin still finished fourth on the team in goals (21) and points (72), despite missing 13 games to injury and one to suspension.
Sometimes, those risky plays pay off and he does come up with a highlight-reel goal. This spin move against the Oilers in February is nearly identical to the failed attempt against the Islanders in Game 4:
He had some great feeds to set up his teammates during the season. In this January game vs. the Jets, Malkin picked up a rebound off of Matt Murray‘s pads, then flew up the ice, watching Dominik Simon the entire way. He sent the puck straight to the tape of Simon’s stick, and Simon finished it off with a backhand shot:
Although Malkin led the Penguins in penalty minutes by a 40-minute margin, he also led the team in penalties drawn, with 26. That's often a product of Malkin being targeted like he was in the Islanders series. Just as Malkin led the team in giveaways, he also led in takeaways (64).
In the same game against the Jets, Malkin regained possession of the puck after Brian Dumoulin turned it over. He proceeded to lead the rush up the ice despite pressure from three different Jets, and protected the puck to create a chance. Dumoulin wasn’t able to cleanly handle the pass so the ensuing shot wasn’t as strong a chance as it could have been, but it was a great rush by Malkin to set it up:
Following the Penguins' elimination from the playoffs, Malkin spoke about speed being a problem for the Penguins, saying that the team needed to be faster. Malkin can still be part of that fast game at his age, as he showed in rushes in the regular season:
... and occasionally in the playoffs:
WHAT'S NEXT?
Malkin's name has been discussed as a possible trade piece this offseason, seemingly now a yearly tradition dating back to 2008. That has been intensified by Jim Rutherford vowing change at the team's locker-room cleanout day, and refusing to label any player other than Crosby as "untouchable."
Still, the logistics of a potential Malkin trade make one extremely unlikely. He has a full no-movement clause, meaning the pool of possible trade partners is limited to the teams for which Malkin would actually want to play. Narrow that pool down to teams that believe Malkin would be a fit on their roster, both cap-wise and system-wise. Now narrow that pool down to teams that are able and willing to provide the Penguins with a return that both fills the Penguins' needs and has a value that makes the trade worthwhile. Now get ownership to sign off on trading away a member of the core.
I just don't believe it will happen.
Malkin is going to be 33-years old at the start of next season. He's still capable of remaining one of the top players in the league at this point in his career, but he has to make adjustments to his game. He can't expect to make all of the same plays he did 10 years ago.
Rutherford recently spoke to Dejan Kovacevic about how Malkin would benefit from evolving his game as he grows older.
“Geno’s a terrific player,” said Rutherford. “Some players only can do one thing and can’t adjust as they get older. He can. He’s very capable of playing a more responsible style. And if he does, I think he’ll find that his points will come even more easily because he and our whole team will have the puck more. He’s definitely got what it takes to do that and continue to be a great player in this league for a lot of years.”
A trade isn't the solution. Malkin must adapt.