Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup on Tuesday night and his impact was immediate.
Malkin not only scored two goals and an assist while being named the first star in the Penguins’ 4-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks; his mere presence in Pittsburgh’s lineup allowed the trio of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and himself to hit a historic milestone.
As of Tuesday night, Malkin, Crosby and Letang are the first three teammates in NHL history to have played together on the same team for 16 seasons.
On Wednesday’s episode of "The Daily Faceoff Show," co-hosts Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk spoke about this milestone, as well as how much longer we can maybe expect to see it continue.
Both Malkin and Letang are unrestricted free agents after the season.
Although with the Penguins cruising along, having won 11 of their last 12 games dating back to early December and now seemingly well entrenched in a playoff spot with a 21-9-5 record, Pittsburgh’s continued success makes it seem that much more likely that the trio will somehow stay together.
Seravalli: “I think Evgeni Malkin will be back, so long as he wants to. I’m not as certain on Kris Letang. I actually give it a little better than a 50/50 shot that the trio stays together next year.
“I think it’s all going to come down to term with Kris Letang at this point, in terms of what the Pittsburgh Penguins might be willing to offer in a number of years and what can you get him to stay for. It’s going to be critical conversations.
“That chemistry, you can’t buy that chemistry.”
Yaremchuk: “If one of them leaves, I think that’s almost a really tough pill to swallow, to be the one who kind of breaks up that modern dynasty. I also think their success on the ice this season and how far they go can determine that as well.
“If you go to the second or, who knows, the third round with that group, do you really want to walk away from maybe an extra $1 million bucks on a deal or something like that?
“I do think a lot of the on-ice results will have an impact there.”
You can watch the full episode here…
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