The 2013 class of NHL free agents isn’t particularly loaded with big name players in the prime of their career. No one will say that Alexander Semin, Jarome Iginla, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzalf are scrubs, but if you’re looking for a player that is going to set the market under the new NHL collective bargaining agreement, you won’t find that player in the class of 2013.
If you jump ahead one year and glance at the list of potential free agents during 2014, you will find a name that will set the market and that player is Evgeni Malkin.
Malkin’s five-year $43.5 million deal will run out at the end of the 2013 NHL campaign. When Malkin signs a new deal, it will set the market for all elite players that have contracts expiring during the life of the new CBA. Chief among that group will be Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos. Stamkos’ deal with the Lightning expires at the end of the 2016 season.
Odds of Malkin becoming a free agent are slim and none. The Pittsburgh Penguins would be positively insane to let him leave, but he is not their only pending big name free agent, as defenseman Kris Letang also ...
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Article written by Trent Reinsmith
NHL Free Agency: Why All Eyes Will Be on Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin
January 19th, 2013 by Trent Reinsmith Leave a reply »
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