Sidney Crosby is happy his longtime teammate Kris Letang will be with him on the ice for the foreseeable future, but he also has thoughts on Evgeni Malkin and how much longer he himself will play.
Speaking to Josh Yohe of The Athletic late Thursday evening, Crosby said he is "happy" for Letang and that he wants to play with him for the rest of the defenseman's contract. That would be at least six more years.
Crosby has three years left on his massive $104.4 million, 12-year deal, so it appears he is already contemplating and extension.
He also has made it clear he wants Evgeni Malkin back.
"Hopefully Geno is next," Crosby told Yohe.
Crosby, Malkin and Letang have been together for 16 seasons and have never missed the playoffs during that time, the longest streak in North American sports.
Along the way, they've made it to the Stanley Cup Final four times, winning three.
The big argument against keeping the core together is four straight first round exits from the playoffs.
While you can't change what happened, the Penguins were the best team this year against the Rangers and last season against the Islanders, but poor goaltending and/or injuries stymied them.
Let's also not forget a head shot from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba to Sidney Crosby that knocked him out for a game and a half and likely changed the outcome of the series.
Malkin, coming off major knee surgery, missed a large portion of the season, but still was on a 40-goal game pace.
Something that was less impressive from Malkin was his poor five-on-five play.
Letang wants him, Crosby wants him, Head Coach Mike Sullivan wants him and General Manager Ron Hextall has also said they want to keep Malkin. Malkin has also said he wants to come back and hopefully finish his career in Pittsburgh.
Now, it's just a matter of both sides getting to a deal they both like, but Malkin may need to take a little less when it comes to the years the Penguins are willing to offer.
NHL Insider Dennis Bernstein told The Fan Morning Show on Friday that he thinks Malkin is worth somewhere between $5.5 and $6 million a year and that he doesn't see many teams that would want to sign the former Conn Smythe winner, but could see the Florida Panthers giving him a one-year deal.
Bernstein added he doesn't think it's worth it to sign with the Panthers.
