When a team is lucky enough to get a talent like Evgeni Malkin in the draft, they should hold on to him for as long as possible. The Pittsburgh Penguins have had Malkin on their team for nine seasons. They have seen the highest of highs (winning the Hart Trophy, the Stanley Cup) while seeing the lows brought on by injury. For the most part, almost everyone would call this marriage a successful one. So why would the trading Malkin even be a thought?

Well, for one, it might not be. It is hard to tell what a front office might be thinking, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t at least talked about it.

Malkin, for one, might finally want to be the leader of a team. He has been second banana to Sidney Crosby from day one in the NHL. While building super teams seems to be the trend in sports today, the Penguins seem to be trending down despite having two of the best players in the NHL. They continue to build the players around them. They brought in Patrick Hornqvist and Christian Ehrhoff this offseason to help them become a true contender. They continue to get the best players possible, whether its through a player later in his career trying to make one last run or someone coming over as a rental at the trade deadline.

The formula of the Penguins has not worked. Some thought it was the coach, so they replaced Dan Bylsma with Mike Johnston. They got worse this season. Maybe it still is the coach. Maybe they will get Mike Babcock in coaching free agency. That would solve a lot of problems.

The problem with Malkin is his production does not live up to his name value. Over the past six seasons, Malkin has broken 30 goals in a season once. That season was the year he won league MVP. He scored a jaw-dropping 50 goals while breaking 100 points. He was far and above the best player in the league that year. The difference between that year and other years was the absence of Crosby.

Is the fact that he plays on a team with Crosby holding back the career of Malkin? Would he continuously break the 100 point threshold if he was the best player on the roster? The level of talent that he plays with compared to Crosby is just not the same. He plays with David Perron, who is good, but isn’t on the same scoring level as Hornqvist. Blake Comeau just isn’t Chris Kunitz. He could go to a team and play with the best line every night.

Again, there is no reason to think this is inevitable, but thoughts could linger. Why would those thoughts linger with the Penguins brass?

Malkin was not the reason for the Pens’ demise this season. The team dealt with a variety of injuries. It seems like the only players that were healthy all season were Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury. Malkin he missed 13 games this season. He missed 22 games the season before. He hasn’t been able to stay on the ice consistently.

Malkin also brings with him over a $9 million cap hit every season. That is money the Penguins could use to build depth around Crosby, They could get two or three really good players for that. That doesn’t even mention the haul they could get in return for Malkin. Imagine what a team like the Minnesota Wild would pay for him. Malkin could play next to Zach Parise, while being looked at as the savior of a franchise that has yet to bring home a Stanley Cup. The Wild would become instant contenders. That is just one example.

My guess is that the Penguins will decide to try this formula for at least one more season. If the Pens cannot get past the New York Rangers, they will likely look at a new head coach. That could be the answer this teams needs. Either way, both parties may be looking into what life would be like without each other. It would take a lot of moving parts to fall into place, but would it really be that bad for both sides?