On cusp of milestone, Malkin still impresses
In August 2006, Evgeni Malkin arrived in Pittsburgh under the cover of dusk, passing through the Fort Pitt Tunnel with an uncertain status, immense internal pressure and not a ton of tangible evidence that he was ready for the National Hockey League.
But finally, two years after drafting him, the Penguins could view him up close.
“Frankly, nobody really knew what they were getting,” longtime broadcaster Mike Lange said recently.
That included most of his new teammates, who knew as much about the Russian as the rest of us. Only a few guys had seen Mr. Malkin with their own two eyes.
There was no Russian Superleague TV package to cue up, and the social media highlight machine wasn’t yet pumping out every pretty goal into the universe. All the players had were secondhand rumblings that Mr. Malkin was worth the wait.
“He was coming out of this faraway place that you didn’t even pay attention to. It was like, ‘Oh my God. Where is this?’ ” former Penguin Colby Armstrong said with a laugh.
Former Penguins general manager Craig Patrick and his scouts were certainly not considered crazy for betting on Mr. Malkin’s upside, selecting him second overall after the Washington Capitals took Alex Ovechkin. But it was
impossible to know how the big kid from Magnitogorsk would adjust to the NHL and North America.
Within two months of Mr. Malkin’s arrival, though, his Penguins teammates, the city of Pittsburgh and the hockey world all came to the same startling realization.
The Penguins had scored another superstar center, and it was a matter of when, not if, he and Sidney Crosby carried the Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh.
“When he started to light the lamp early and then just took off, it was like, ‘Oh yeah, here we go,’ ” Mr. Armstrong said. “There were moments [that year] when I remember talking to guys in the dressing room and we were like, ‘Holy crap, Geno might be better than Sid right now.’ And we thought Sid was the best, you know?”
Sixteen years later, Mr. Malkin is still going strong as he nears his 1,000th NHL game. He is on track to reach that milestone Sunday in Chicago. Comfortable sharing the marquee with Mr. Crosby, he will have played every one with the Penguins.
Mr. Malkin expressed gratitude in an exclusive interview with the Post-Gazette.
“I’m glad to be here. After 16 years, it’s a long run. But it’s amazing. I can’t believe it. Life, it’s amazing right now. I have the best job in the world,” Mr. Malkin, 36, said this week. “It’s a great organization. We still have a nice group here. It’s not easy. We have injuries and tough times. But I have so many good memories.”
Some of the best are from his rookie year, when he took the NHL by storm.
Waiting for liftoff
Long before his 1,000th NHL game, Mr. Malkin was desperate to play in his first.
Mr. Crosby dazzled in his debut season in 2005-06. Mr. Malkin was ready to come join him the following year, but first he had to get out of his Russian Superleague contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the program that helped to develop Mr. Malkin.
That story is well-known. Mr. Malkin, weeks after his 20th birthday, left Metallurg before their training camp in Finland. Once in the U.S., he invoked a law that allowed him to cancel his Metallurg contract by giving his employer two weeks’ notice.
It took years for hard feelings back in his hometown to subside. But reflecting on his path to Pittsburgh, Mr. Malkin said he wouldn’t do anything differently.
“I think it was the best thing I have done in my whole life. But it was not easy,” he said. “After years and years and we win Cups, I feel like I did everything right. I’m back to Russia. I’m back to my hometown. Everything is great right now. But I’m glad I didn’t wait. I felt like I was ready to play in the NHL. Time to go.”
Former Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar, his countryman and a close friend, also believed Mr. Malkin was ready. They were teammates in Russia during the NHL lockout in 2004-05.
“You could see from the start. The guy has all the tools, right?” he said. “He read the game so well. He could skate. The size was there. He handled the [physicality of the pro] game with no problem. He scored very important goals for us.”
Mr. Crosby was another of the few Penguins who had witnessed Mr. Malkin in person. He faced off against him in the World Junior Championships in 2005, then saw Mr. Malkin again the following summer when both players skated in the IIHF Worlds.
Mr. Crosby was in awe as Mr. Malkin, at 19, “completely dominated” NHL players. So, yeah, he was pretty pumped when his agent called to tell him Mr. Malkin was in the U.S.
Mr. Malkin was a force in his first Penguins practices. Veteran forward Mark Recchi, a Hall of Famer, made headlines by comparing him to Mario Lemieux. But Mr. Malkin’s NHL debut was put on hold after a preseason collision with John LeClair.
“It was wicked bad, and we had just got him,” Mr. Armstrong said. “It flipped him ass over teakettle. Geno put his arms out to shield himself, because his feet were over his head. He almost did a flip. I just remember him being in an arm brace because he hurt his shoulder. We thought he was really, really, really badly hurt.”
Mr. Malkin missed four weeks. His first NHL game was Oct. 18 at Mellon Arena, and he started his career with an outburst that is unmatched in the modern era.
Getting to know you
NHL stardom came naturally for Mr. Malkin, something we will revisit here shortly. The English language and interaction with his new teammates? Not so much.
Mr. Crosby recalled taking Mr. Malkin out to lunch shortly after he arrived in Pittsburgh.
“I mean, it was a battle,” he said with a big laugh. “It was hard to communicate.”
One day, they were talking on the phone when Mr. Crosby heard harsh Russian tones in the background. Mr. Crosby, still a teenager at the time, started to get worried. Was Mr. Malkin getting taken back to Magnitogorsk amidst the contract dispute?
“I remember asking him, ‘Hey, is everything OK?’ Here I thought something was wrong. He was just talking to his mom,” Mr. Crosby said, cracking up about that.
Mr. Gonchar was an invaluable asset to Mr. Malkin and the Penguins. A father figure, he let Mr. Malkin live with him for three years and served as his translator, chauffeur and sounding board. In 2012, Mr. Malkin dedicated his Hart Trophy to Mr. Gonchar.
“He didn’t speak much. It usually takes him a while for him to open up,” Mr. Gonchar said. “Once you gain his trust, he opens up and is very funny. He’s a joker.”
Coach Michel Therrien came up with a plan to get him out of his comfort zone.
“I don’t know if it helped him or hurt him, but Geno was plunked between myself and Max Talbot in the dressing room. So he had us dummies in his ear all the time,” Mr. Armstrong said, chuckling. “You know when you talk to a dog and their ears perk up and their head turns sideways? We got a lot of that from him.”
Mr. Armstrong messed with Mr. Malkin, like when he pointed at his own chest while trying to teach him the word “legend.” Teammates walked by shaking their heads.
Mr. Talbot had playful fun with Mr. Malkin, too. But there were also roommates on the road. They communicated as best they could at the hotel or out grabbing a meal.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Malkin to let his guard down with those two and all the other young Penguins, including Mr. Crosby, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury.
While he was fiery on the ice, Mr. Malkin was easygoing off it, quick to laugh as they lugged him along to social gatherings, Steelers games and team dinners.
“It’s all nice memories. It was not easy. I was a little bit nervous, for sure. New city. New country. New language,” Mr. Malkin said. “We were young guys. We just had fun. After the games, we went out as a group. ... these guys gave me everything. I want to say thank you. Every guy gave me a little bit.”
Geno goes streaking
When he went down with that scary shoulder injury, doubt crept in for Mr. Malkin.
“Maybe I’m not ready to play here. Maybe I am soft, you know?” he said.
He had already put a lot of pressure on himself to perform right away after leaving his country in a controversial fashion. Now he was feeling unsure of himself. But after the puck dropped for his NHL debut, all of that was quickly swept away.
“When he came back, he was obviously shot out of a cannon,” Mr. Crosby said.
Mr. Malkin buzzed around the New Jersey zone, generating a few good looks. In the second period, he poked a loose puck behind Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. That was the first of more than 450 career goals Mr. Malkin has scored.
Mr. Crosby set up Mr. Malkin in
his second game, a victory on Long Island. Mr. Malkin scored again in a home win over Columbus. Then came a rematch with New Jersey.
Devils forward Mike Rupp, who would later be Mr. Malkin’s teammate in Pittsburgh, was struck by the effortless way the lanky kid skated and shielded the puck.
“Obviously, his size and skill are incredible,” he said. “But his ability to hang on to the puck, it feels like it’s stuck to him like glue, even with physical contact.”
The whole package was on display when Mr. Malkin waltzed through two defenders then tucked the puck behind Mr. Brodeur as Colin White whacked away at him.
“The way he just walked everyone then beat Brodeur the way he did, it was like the roof had blown off the building,” Mr. Armstrong said. “It was that high-end skill and massive strength and speed and power, all exhibited at the same time.”
Added Mr. Lange: “He was like a Clydesdale on skates coming through center ice. It was amazing to watch. It made me think of those Budweiser commercials.”
It was one of the most memorable plays of Mr. Malkin’s career. But a goal he got in Los Angeles one week later stands out even more to his former teammates.
There was buzz about the battle between Mr. Crosby and Kings center Anze Kopitar. But Mr. Malkin stole the spotlight with two goals, including the overtime winner.
“We needed to win that one,” Mr. Armstrong said. “Because we were going to go out after the game.
It was crazy when he scored that. The team was so fired up.”
Mr. Malkin grinned as he recalled the epic rookie dinner that followed.
“That’s when he started to get out of his [shell],” Mr. Talbot said. “I think that’s where we all kind of came together. It was pretty blurry. But we all had a lot of fun.”
Start of something special
Mr. Malkin was finally shut out in San Jose. But he was the first player since Joe Malone in the NHL’s inaugural season to score in the first six games of his career.
Mr. Malkin finished that season with 33 goals and 85 points in 78 games. He was the runaway winner of the Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie.
“It was awesome for him because you’re coming to a new place, you’re trying to adjust, you don’t know how your game is going to [project],” Mr. Crosby said. “I know he’s really confident. But at the same time, you’re trying to find your way.”
With Mr. Malkin at his side, Mr. Crosby won the scoring title and was the league MVP.
He might not have said much, but Mr. Malkin watched Mr. Crosby closely all season.
“I learned you have to work hard every day,” Mr. Malkin said. “The NHL is a very tough league. The best players play here. I watched Sid every day. You know he’s good. But when you see how he practices, it just changed my whole mindset.”
The Penguins made the playoffs for the first time in six years. That kicked off their current run of 16 straight postseason appearances. And, although they got bounced in the first round, the veterans saw that something special was brewing.
“You could just tell they were winners with the type of people they were,” Mr. Recchi said. “They wanted to be champions. You could just see the drive they had, every one of them. You still see it today. Those core guys, they’re all still playing.”
And Mr. Crosby and Mr. Malkin are still together, an important aspect of Mr. Malkin’s story.
“I think it could be hard,” Mr. Armstrong said. “You’re this star player and at the same time you’re kind of in the passenger seat with Sid lots of times. I think Geno’s kind of OK with that and understands that for sure. At the end of the day, he just wants to win. Throughout his career, Geno has shown that’s all he wants.”
Mr. Malkin has likely secured a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame with his three Stanley Cup rings, two scoring titles and a Conn Smythe Trophy. He hopes to hoist the Cup again, giving him the most titles among Russian-born players.
Playing 1,000 games, all with Pittsburgh, will be one of his favorite accomplishments. Especially after an uncertain offseason in which he nearly hit free agency.
“There are very few players in the league that achieve such a thing, and there are even fewer players from Russia that have played that many games,” Mr. Gonchar said. “So I think he will be proud and [Sunday] will be a special night for him.”
A night he could only dream of in 2006, when he first laid eyes on his new home.