Since he arrived on the scene in 2006, he has recorded 472 points, 182 goals and 290 assists. He was the key factor in the Penguins most recent Stanley Cup victory in 2009 against the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, he is the most valuable Penguin and no, I am not talking about Sidney Crosby. Evgeni “Geno” Malkin has shown he has what it takes to lead an organization to the highest of peaks.
From 2007-09 Malkin was one of the big benefactors in bringing back “The City of Champions.” In 2007 and 2008 Malkin posted back to back 100 point seasons, with the latter leading them to their first of back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances. Although it was not enough to get Pittsburgh over the hump, Malkin had one thing on his mind the following year, revenge.
The following year, the Penguins faced off against the Red Wings for the second time in two years in the Stanley Cup Finals. This time, the Penguins found the result they were looking for thanks to one man. In that historical playoff run, Malkin recorded an astounding 36 points in four series. This was the most output of points recorded by one player in the playoffs since 1993 by none other than “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky. Malkin’s performance earned him the MVP award throughout the playoffs and in the Stanley Cup Finals.
I understand there are numerous other candidates that could make a case for this prestigious award, most notably Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury. To go back to Crosby’s stats starting in 2006, Malkin’s first season with the Pens, he has only 10 more points, 14 more assists and four less goals then Malkin. It also must be dully noted that these comparisons can be fairly compared. Both players have missed a significant amount of time in their careers due to injury. Malkin dealt with an injury early in his career, as well as missing a majority of the season last year with a knee injury. On the other hand, I think we can all say that we understand Crosby’s injury. Sid the Kid has been dealing with one of the most famous concussions in sports history over the past two years. It seems like the only thing Sid’s concussion is missing is a name.
The second player that you could make a significant argument for is Fleury. Fleury has risen to the occasion many times throughout his stellar career, including his most famous save at the end of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in the final second. Let’s be honest though. It is hard to compare a prominent scorer in Malkin to an eilte goaltender in Fleury. With goalies, there tends to be an inconsistency. Even the best of goalies can have a stretch of games where they can let up three, four, or even five goals in a game. Fleury has had numerous games where he has proved that statement to be correct. At the same time, any goaltender can get hot at any given moment. With a goal scorer, you know what to expect with them. I have learned to have high expectations for Malkin, and to this point I have not been disappointed.
Malkin is off to another hot start this year after just recently taking the lead in points throughout the entire league. He currently has 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points through the first 39 games. So, the next time you hear someone discussing who has been the most valuable player on the Penguins, think twice before choosing Crosby.
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