The Big Man Says Malkin Will Stay

TSN’s Bob McKenzie is reporting that, despite rumors suggesting that Pittsburgh is in talks with L.A. to send star forward Evgeni Malkin to the Kings for the 2nd overall pick, Malkin will not be moved on draft day.

This is a somewhat bold statement in light of the significant chatter right now that suggests Malkin might be moved to make room for accomodating Marian Hossa’s contract, a potential move that has been criticized by many pundits including Illegal Curve’s Richard Pollock.

McKenzie went on to say that he believes Alex Tanguay, Olli Jokinen, and Toronto’s Pavel Kubina are all very likely to be traded this weekend. The Kubina news surprised me, since I always thought an NHL team wasn’t allowed to trade a player to a minor league franchise. I’m not sure who else would be interested…..

For Illegal Curve, I’m Steve Werier.