For the Hell of It: Malkin Traded to CHI

How It Started

It was the "rumor" that sparked a whole host of unnecessary commentary, but it was something to talk about for the day.  I truly believe hockey withdrawal has set in to full effect.

Evgeni Malkin, star center of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is coming off of a second successful Stanley Cup run and has found his name in trade rumors for the second straight offseason.  Remember last year's wild rumor that he would be traded to San Jose for the potential combo of Logan Couture and Brent Burns?  (And truth be told, you'd have to really consider that completely lopsided deal)

Anyway, the following tweet was sent out yesterday:

Hearing Blackhawks seriously kicking tires on Evgeni Malkin. Will be interesting to see how they create cap space...

— Steve Zipay (@stevezipay) June 21, 2016

Photo courtesy of thehockeywriters.com

I'm sure he's a very reputable source, but I almost did a spit take laughing yesterday.

There's absolutely no shot in Hell that Chicago could get Evgeni Malkin.  The rumor is almost as asinine as if someone were to report that Sidney Crosby told management he wanted to leave for the Philadelphia Flyers.

But, for boredom's sake, let's say this deal were imminent.  Let's play fantasy general manager.  Now, for the sake of it, let's forget about exact salary retentions and conditional draft pick compensation nonsense.  Frankly, I feel it would only complicate this absurd post.

Evgeni Malkin traded to CHI for...

For me, there's one trade I would make with Chicago if in fact I wanted to move Malkin and they wanted to acquire him.

To CHI:

C- Evgeni Malkin  (PIT)
​D- Derrick Pouliot
​2017 1st Round Pick
(PIT retains part of Malkin's salary)

To PIT:

D- Duncan Keith
F- Artemi Planarian
​2017 2nd Round Pick

Again, pure fantasy based, but would you not offer this trade?  Sure, you could be super greedy and ask for Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane, but we know that's a pipe dream--as is mine.

In this scenario, Chicago would add another offensive dynamo who would create all kinds of match-up issues for every team in the league plus another first-round pick.  Pittsburgh would add arguably the best defenseman in the league not named Kris Letang for several more years at a relatively cheap cap hit, a forward whose upside is the sky and a decent pick to work with in the future.  

The delusion has set in for sure, but it's always fun to dream these things up.

Your Turn

Your turn, fellow Penguins fans.  Let's say you're going to trade Evgeni Malkin to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Who do you want in return?  Comment below!