Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis are among three of the names included in the conversation of all-time greatest Pittsburgh Penguins players. At the ripe age of 26, Evgeni Malkin is already considered among the best players to ever don the black and gold. But where exactly does he stand?
Greatness is an ambiguous term. Some players excel as goal scorers or playmakers and others as grinders and tough guys. However, it’s generally the best-rounded players that are remembered for years.
That said, to say Malkin excels in scoring is an understatement. The Russian center has only had one season, during which he was riddled with injuries, where he was held to less than one point per game.
The fact that he's surpassed the 100-point mark three times makes that easy to overlook.
He resembles Lemieux quite a bit when it comes to size and strength. Both men are very adept at using their stature to light the lamp.
There are a lot of scoring statistics that clearly illustrate how alike Malkin and Lemieux are. When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, Malkin became the first player to lead both the regular season an ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Michael Prunka
Where Does Evgeni Malkin Rank Among the All-Time Great Penguins?
January 5th, 2013 by Michael Prunka Leave a reply »
Advertisement