Evgeni Malkin’s agent J.P. Barry told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the star forward never pondered joining the Dallas Stars or any other NHL team besides the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Instead, Barry insisted on Tuesday that the contract extension talks were “super smooth.”
“The negotiations with Pittsburgh went very smoothly,” Barry said. “Ray Shero, David Morehouse, Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux showed a willingness throughout to find a fair structure for both sides. Evgeni was very pleased that this negotiation was concluded amicably as his wishes were always to remain in Pittsburgh.”
The 27-year-old backed that statement up via a text message to the Tribune-Review, stating that he hopes to “only play for Pittsburgh.”
Malkin’s father Vladimir mentioned that the Dallas Stars might have made an offer to Malkin in Sovetsky Sport, yet the Stars denied any rumors of tampering.
The Tribune-Review and Dallas Morning News report that the NHL isn’t investigating possible tampering. With that and Malkin’s eight-year, $76 million extension in mind, it seems that it’s all a moot point (if it even happened in the first place).
