Nick Kypreos: I'm Sure Malkin Discussions Are Happening
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Sportsnet hockey insider and former NHL player Nick Kypreos joined "The Fan Morning Show" on Wednesday to share his insight into the latest Penguins trade rumors, namely those involving Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin.
At the start of June, Kypreos had speculated that the Penguins will likely consider moving Malkin this offseason. He explained that despite the Stanley Cup win and General Manager Jim Rutherford's denials of any trade talks involving Malkin, he still has that hunch.
"That was not factual, that was just my gut instinct," Kypreos said. "No question in my mind that those discussions are going on. Whether it makes sense now, whether it makes sense 12 months from now, whether it makes sense at all is something that Pittsburgh's having discussions on."
Kypreos sees this more as a function of the Penguins' challenges with staying under the salary cap than it is about any sort of disinterest in Malkin.
"There's no question that the thought process is, where do we go, what does our cap look like, does it make sense for various reasons?" Kypreos said. "I think those discussions are going on, whether or not it makes sense to pursue something, or not. The salary cap, in many ways, is quite evil for the players. It forces the hands of management to make decisions, not one from the heart, but one from financial perspectives. That salary cap really can force teams to have different looks in quite a hurry."
As for Fleury, Kypreos believes that the Penguins may be willing to stand pat and hang onto him for now if they can't find a deal that they like.
"I'm not sure where [the Penguins are] in terms of their sense of urgency," Kypreos said. "There's no question that they're going to have to come to a conclusion somewhere down the road, but does that necessarily mean now? It could mean you could start the season with Marc-Andre and Matt [Murray] and let it kind of evolve right up until the trade deadline. Worst-case scenario, he stays and you just take your chances of maybe trying to win another Cup, and you lose him for nothing."
On Tuesday, a Calgary Sun article revealed that the Penguins were asking for the Flames' first round pick (No. 6 overall) in the upcoming NHL Draft for Fleury.
"There's no question that they think that they've got an asset right now that's worth a lot. They're going to try to get as much as they can out of Calgary, so the price is rather high. Whether or not Calgary pays it now, or later, or not at all remains to be seen, but I don't get the sense that the Penguins should be in a hurry to make any type of decision with Marc-Andre Fleury. You could start the season with him and move forward," Kypreos said.
The interview can be heard here: