Malkin Skating and Hoping to Join the Penguins Soon - Russia Declares War

Evgeni Malkin is anxious to start living his dream of playing in the National Hockey League and it seems that his agents are doing everything in their power to make that a reality. The goal is to have Malkin stay in Los Angeles, working out and skating, until his two week notice is final in Russia. That would have him arriving in Pittsburgh early next week. Malkin's agents are consulting their legal team and developing a game plan. The hope is that they can have everything in motion before Gennady Velichkin, GM for Metallurg Magnitagorsk, can get a Russian court to file an injunction hindering Malkin from playing for any other professional team until there is a resolution.

Velichkin is supposedly using the money that the team had allocated to pay Malkin's salary this season to put together a team of US lawyers to pursue a settlement. He is hoping to get the Penguins to pay an inflated buy out of Malkin's contract, rather than settle for the $200,000 the team can get via the proposed transfer agreement.

The National Hockey league will never allow the team to pay an individual buy out and it is believed that a US court would dismiss any lawsuit that is brought. This situation is not exactly the same as cases that have been tossed out in the past, but when you consider the circumstances in which Malkin was forced to sign his contract with Metallurg, his team should not have much difficulty winning the case.

Malkin seems quite content in his new surroundings and has been described by other players as having an almost constant smile on his face. Which is a good thing, considering this kid is thousands of miles from home in a strange land with no family or friends.

Malkin has been interviewed by several media outlets since his arrival in the United States and he has relayed his story more than once. He seems comfortable with his decision and at this point just wants to put everything behind him and to begin his career.

Malkin has not gotten the chance to meet any of his future teammates, aside from Sergei Gonchar, who told him: ""He told me there are a lot of young players, and that Pittsburgh is a friendly place." He also received a text message from Sidney Crosby welcoming him. Malkin seemed genuinely touched by the communication, speaking about it in the interview he did with Darren Dreger of TSN in Canada.

It seems like the worst in behind this young man, lawsuits pending, and his dream to play in the NHL seems as if it is about to become a reality.


Russia Declares War on the NHL
This is a joke. I can see the teams in the Russian Super League being angry about losing players to the NHL and there should be some kind of compensation paid, however, using terms like war and terrorism to describe losing a player in a sports league is ludicrous. Especially in the world today. There are wars going on as we speak and the threat of terrorism is very real....not only here, but in Russia. Gennady Velichkin's daily quotes make him sound more like a spoiled brat than the general manager of professional sports team. Hey Gennady, I know you lost your toy(since that is what Evgeni Malkin seems to be to you), but let's try to remember: IT IS A GAME! The player had a right to go to the NHL and chose to do so.