WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.919 The Malkin Story. 500 goals, Stanley Cups, and 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:07.519 a daring NHL. Escape the deep dive. Join us for 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.179 a fascinating deep dive into the life and career 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:12.759 of Pittsburgh Penguins legend, Evgeny Malkin. 00:00:13.210 --> 00:00:16.170 From his dramatic 2006 transfer dispute and daring 00:00:16.170 --> 00:00:18.129 escape from Russia to becoming a three -time 00:00:18.129 --> 00:00:20.089 Stanley Cup champion, Conn Smythe winner, and 00:00:20.089 --> 00:00:22.929 NHL MVP, we unpack the milestones that define 00:00:22.929 --> 00:00:25.589 Gino. We explore his incredible resilience through 00:00:25.589 --> 00:00:29.489 major injuries, his 500th NHL goal, his dominance 00:00:29.489 --> 00:00:31.670 on the international stage with Team Russia, 00:00:31.929 --> 00:00:34.390 and his unique place alongside generational talents 00:00:34.390 --> 00:00:37.289 like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Whether 00:00:37.289 --> 00:00:39.649 you're a diehard hockey fan or just love a story 00:00:39.649 --> 00:00:42.590 of triumph over adversity, this deep dive extracts 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:44.700 the most important insights from Malkin's incredible 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:46.560 journey. I want you to picture something for 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.840 me. Just imagine you're a 20 -year -old hockey 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:51.640 prodigy. Okay. And you are so utterly desperate 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:53.479 to achieve your ultimate dream of playing in 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:55.560 the NHL that you actually sneak away from your 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.060 team in a foreign country. You hide from your 00:00:58.060 --> 00:01:00.159 employers. You wait in secret for international 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.859 visa clearance and get this to legally break 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:05.060 your contract. You invoke international labor 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:07.780 laws by sending a resignation notice through 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:10.760 a fax machine. A fax machine just to get to work. 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:13.159 Exactly. I mean, it sounds like some Cold War 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:16.700 spy thriller, but that is the actual documented 00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:20.879 beginning of Evgeny Malkin's NHL career. So welcome 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:23.790 to the deep dive. Thanks. Glad to be here. Today, 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:26.530 our mission is strictly focused on exploring 00:01:26.530 --> 00:01:29.489 the Wikipedia biography of one of the most dominant, 00:01:29.670 --> 00:01:32.709 resilient, and frankly, fascinating players in 00:01:32.709 --> 00:01:34.730 modern hockey history. We're going to uncover 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:37.790 the real aha moments of his life, you know, balancing 00:01:37.790 --> 00:01:40.370 those staggering on -ice stats with the very 00:01:40.370 --> 00:01:42.890 human gritty stories behind them. Yeah, the human 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:45.329 element is huge here. Okay, let's unpack this. 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:47.609 Where does the story of Evgeny Malkin actually 00:01:47.609 --> 00:01:50.469 begin? Well, to really understand his trajectory, 00:01:50.650 --> 00:01:52.769 we have to start at his foundations back in July 00:01:52.769 --> 00:01:56.109 1986. He was born in Magnitogorsk. Which was 00:01:56.109 --> 00:01:58.049 part of the Soviet Union then. Exactly. And this 00:01:58.049 --> 00:02:00.890 is not some glamorous sports metropolis. It's 00:02:00.890 --> 00:02:03.269 a city almost entirely dominated by the iron 00:02:03.269 --> 00:02:06.370 and steel industry. Right. His father, Vladimir, 00:02:06.609 --> 00:02:09.069 worked for the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, 00:02:09.289 --> 00:02:11.849 which is like the largest steel company in Russia. 00:02:12.229 --> 00:02:15.849 And Vladimir also played in the local Metalurg 00:02:15.849 --> 00:02:19.020 Magnitogorsk hockey system. So the hockey DNA 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:21.199 was already in the house. Yeah, the DNA was there. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:23.680 Malkin was on skates by the time he was three 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.340 years old. Three. Three. And playing in organized 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:30.340 leagues by age five. But the real twist in his 00:02:30.340 --> 00:02:33.740 origin story is that both of his parents, Vladimir 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:36.199 and Natalia, they were actually quite short in 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:38.719 stature. Really? I didn't know that. Yeah. So 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:41.300 nobody looking at this family expected young 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:44.960 Evgeny to grow into a six foot five, 213 pound 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:48.500 world class athlete. It just it completely defied 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:50.639 genetic expectations. Keeping that steel town 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:52.860 background in mind is vital, I think, when you 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:54.719 watch him play. Oh, absolutely. Because we often 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.680 just see the polished, massive superstar dominating 00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.840 on television. Yeah. But understanding where 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.960 he comes from shows you the grit, the absolute 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.680 grind it takes to maintain that level of greatness 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.520 over to. It's not easy. And that grit was put 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.060 to the test almost immediately on the world stage. 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:16.620 Take the 2004 NHL entry draft. Malkin is drafted 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:19.099 second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Right 00:03:19.099 --> 00:03:21.379 behind Alexander Ovechkin. Right. His Russian 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:23.520 national teammate drafted first overall right 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.219 ahead of him. So, you know, you'd expect him 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:27.960 to just throw on a Penguins jersey and head to 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:30.960 Pennsylvania. But the geopolitics of hockey got 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.250 in the way. Yeah, the geopolitics created a massive 00:03:34.250 --> 00:03:36.930 roadblock here. There was a severe transfer dispute 00:03:36.930 --> 00:03:39.669 brewing between the NHL and the International 00:03:39.669 --> 00:03:43.129 Ice Hockey Federation, the IIHF. Compounding 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:46.669 that was the 2004 -2005 NHL lockout, which meant 00:03:46.669 --> 00:03:48.789 there was no NHL hockey being played anyway. 00:03:49.030 --> 00:03:50.610 Right, the whole season was canceled. Exactly. 00:03:50.770 --> 00:03:53.210 So Malkin stayed in Russia, continuing to play 00:03:53.210 --> 00:03:56.030 for his hometown club, Metalurg Magnitogorsk. 00:03:56.370 --> 00:03:59.610 But by August 2006, the situation reaches a boiling 00:03:59.610 --> 00:04:02.180 point. Malkin signs a one -year deal to stay 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:04.659 with Metalurg, but he later makes it very clear 00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:07.099 that this was not a willing compromise. He was 00:04:07.099 --> 00:04:09.620 forced into it. Essentially, yeah. He stated 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:11.379 he signed it because of immense psychological 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:13.800 pressure from the club. His sights were firmly 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.339 set on the NHL. And this is where that spy thriller 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:21.660 aspect kicks into high gear. It's August 2006, 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:24.699 and Metalurg is holding their training camp in 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:27.430 Helsinki, Finland. What's fascinating here is 00:04:27.430 --> 00:04:30.050 the sheer audacity of the escape plan. Yeah. 00:04:30.110 --> 00:04:32.389 Reports indicated that the Russian team actually 00:04:32.389 --> 00:04:35.129 confiscated Malkin's passport. Just took it. 00:04:35.170 --> 00:04:37.189 Took it specifically to prevent him from leaving 00:04:37.189 --> 00:04:39.170 the country or making a run for North America. 00:04:39.290 --> 00:04:41.610 But eventually he manages to get the passport 00:04:41.610 --> 00:04:44.290 back. No. The sources don't detail exactly how, 00:04:44.310 --> 00:04:46.709 but he gets it. And on August 12th, before the 00:04:46.709 --> 00:04:49.819 camp even officially begins, he slips away. He 00:04:49.819 --> 00:04:52.639 passes through Finnish customs, meets up with 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:55.160 his agent, J .P. Berry, and they literally go 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:57.899 into hiding. In Finland. In Finland. They are 00:04:57.899 --> 00:05:00.420 holed up in an apartment waiting for the U .S. 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:03.160 embassy to clear his work visa. I mean, put yourself 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:05.560 in his shoes for a second. You are 20 years old. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.120 You barely speak any English. You're hiding out 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:10.399 in a Finnish apartment trying to defect to America 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:12.860 to play hockey while an entire international 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:15.750 organization is actively looking for you. it's 00:05:15.750 --> 00:05:19.050 wild and to legally extricate himself from the 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:21.050 situation this is where it gets highly technical 00:05:21.050 --> 00:05:25.250 on august 15th Malkin relies on a fax machine. 00:05:25.389 --> 00:05:28.110 A fax machine. He invokes a specific Russian 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:31.250 labor law that allows an employee to cancel a 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:34.389 contract by giving two weeks notice. Wow. He 00:05:34.389 --> 00:05:36.730 faxes his official resignation to his Russian 00:05:36.730 --> 00:05:40.250 club. By early September, he is legally untied 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:42.870 from his obligations in Russia and signs his 00:05:42.870 --> 00:05:45.329 entry -level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:47.550 But you don't just pull a stunt like that without 00:05:47.550 --> 00:05:49.889 facing some serious legal blowback from your 00:05:49.889 --> 00:05:51.790 former employers. I mean, the Russian club was 00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:53.720 not going to just let... their star player walk 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.680 away for free no the blowback was immediate and 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.699 severe In October 2006, right around the time 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:02.860 of his first NHL game, Meadowlark filed a massive 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:04.920 lawsuit in a New York district court against 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:06.939 both the NHL and the Pittsburgh Penguins. And 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:08.660 this wasn't just a standard contract dispute, 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:11.199 right? Not at all. They filed an antitrust lawsuit. 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:13.720 Antitrust? Yes. They were essentially arguing 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:15.699 that the NHL and the Penguins were operating 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:18.819 as an illegal monopoly, conspiring to poach international 00:06:18.819 --> 00:06:21.540 talent and restrict free trade across borders. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.759 That is a massive escalation. Huge. They sought 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:28.079 monetary damages and a legal— to literally stop 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:31.339 him from taking the ice. It took until February 00:06:31.339 --> 00:06:34.740 2007 for a judge to completely dismiss that lawsuit 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:37.720 on its merits. Having a federal antitrust lawsuit 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:39.980 hanging over your head during your first few 00:06:39.980 --> 00:06:43.279 months at a new job in a new country is unimaginable 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.279 pressure. And his actual on -ice debut was even 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:49.160 delayed slightly because he dislocated his shoulder 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:51.560 in a preseason collision. With his own teammate, 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:54.079 John LeClair. Right. But when he finally took 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.370 the ice for real on October 8th, 18th, 2006 against 00:06:57.370 --> 00:07:00.480 the New Jersey Devils. He makes an unforgettable 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.980 entrance. Oh, he absolutely does. He scores his 00:07:02.980 --> 00:07:05.459 first career goal against Martin Berdour, widely 00:07:05.459 --> 00:07:07.360 considered one of the greatest goaltenders to 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:09.860 ever play the game. And that goal really opened 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:12.480 the floodgates. He set a modern NHL record by 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:14.740 scoring at least one goal in each of his first 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:17.579 six games. Six games in a row. To start a career. 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.019 The source material highlights just how rare 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:22.519 this is. No player had achieved a feat like that 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:25.699 since the NHL's very first season in 1917 -1918 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:28.379 when Joe Malone did it. That is staggering. Decades 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:30.939 of hockey history, generations of Hall of Fame 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:33.540 players, and Malkin comes in as a rookie and 00:07:33.540 --> 00:07:35.439 does something that hadn't been seen since the 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.060 dawn of the league. He finished that rookie season 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:40.600 leading all first -year players with 85 points 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:42.879 and rightfully won the Calder Memorial Trophy 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:45.519 as the league's best rookie. Doing all of this 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.180 while navigating a massive culture shock, by 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:50.899 the way. He had to rely heavily on his Russian 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:54.100 teammate, Sergei Gonchar, just to navigate daily 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:57.649 life and handle simple media interviews. Gonchar 00:07:57.649 --> 00:08:00.350 was a huge mentor for him. Fast forward a couple 00:08:00.350 --> 00:08:03.230 of years to his peak era, specifically the 2008 00:08:03.230 --> 00:08:06.829 -2009 season, and he transforms from a great 00:08:06.829 --> 00:08:10.310 rookie into a force of nature. That 2008 -2009 00:08:10.310 --> 00:08:13.069 campaign is legendary. He won the Art Ross Trophy 00:08:13.069 --> 00:08:15.329 as the league's leading scorer with 113 points 00:08:15.329 --> 00:08:17.889 in the regular season. But the true test of a 00:08:17.889 --> 00:08:19.810 hockey player's legacy is the postseason, and 00:08:19.810 --> 00:08:22.170 the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs are where he carved 00:08:22.170 --> 00:08:24.810 his name into history. The Penguins faced the 00:08:24.810 --> 00:08:26.490 Detroit Red Wings in the finals, which was a 00:08:26.490 --> 00:08:28.430 rematch of the previous year that Detroit had 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:31.990 won. And the Penguins win the Cup in an agonizing 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:34.370 seven -game series. And Markin was the engine 00:08:34.370 --> 00:08:37.669 driving that entire run. He tallied 36 points 00:08:37.669 --> 00:08:40.289 in those playoffs. 36 points. To put that number 00:08:40.289 --> 00:08:43.029 in perspective, 36 points was the highest playoff 00:08:43.029 --> 00:08:45.610 point total for any player since Wayne Gretzky 00:08:45.610 --> 00:08:49.090 put up 40 points in 1993. Wow. Whenever your 00:08:49.090 --> 00:08:51.250 name is sitting directly next to Wayne Gretzky 00:08:51.250 --> 00:08:53.009 in the record books, you have reached the... 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:55.919 absolute pinnacle of the sport. For sure. Malkin 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:58.519 won the Kahn -Smyth Trophy as the playoff MVP, 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.440 making history as the very first Russian -born 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.360 and Asian -born player to earn that honor. He 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.299 also became just the second player in Penguins 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:09.480 franchise history to win both the regular season 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.299 scoring title and the playoff MVP in the exact 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:15.120 same year. Let me guess, Mario Lemieux. Exactly, 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.279 Mario Lemieux in 1992. You cannot tell the story 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:20.600 of Evgeny Malkin without talking about the dynamic 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.559 he shares with Sidney Crosby. These are two generational 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:26.120 talents occupying the exact same locker room. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.000 And the sources provide this wonderful humanizing 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.100 anecdote from October 2008. Oh, the puck story. 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:36.580 Yes. Malkin records his 200th career point by 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:39.960 assisting on a goal scored by Sidji Crosby. It 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.080 just so happened that the goal was Crosby's 100th 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.179 career goal and 300th career point. A milestone 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:48.720 for both of them on the exact same play. Right. 00:09:49.070 --> 00:09:50.870 And instead of fighting over who gets to keep 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:53.190 the milestone puck, they had the team trainer 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:55.250 literally cut the puck in half so they could 00:09:55.250 --> 00:09:57.970 both share it. It is a perfect image of partnership 00:09:57.970 --> 00:10:00.990 over ego. That split puck symbolizes their entire 00:10:00.990 --> 00:10:03.429 relationship. It was never a bitter rivalry for 00:10:03.429 --> 00:10:05.970 the spotlight. It was a genuine tandem pushing 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:08.690 each other to unprecedented heights. They figured 00:10:08.690 --> 00:10:11.049 out how to coexist and elevate the entire franchise. 00:10:11.470 --> 00:10:13.230 Here's where it gets really interesting, though. 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.220 Professional hockey is a brutal, punishing sport, 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:18.799 and Malkin has endured some devastating physical 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:21.440 setbacks. We have to look at the toll this game 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.360 took on his body. The 2010 -2011 season illustrates 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:28.080 this perfectly. On February 4th, 2011, Malkin 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:30.139 had just returned from a lingering knee issue 00:10:30.139 --> 00:10:32.299 and a severe sinus infection. He was already 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:35.149 banged up. Exactly. And during a game against 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:37.789 the Buffalo Sabres, he gets tangled up awkwardly 00:10:37.789 --> 00:10:39.970 on the boards in a collision with defenseman 00:10:39.970 --> 00:10:43.210 Tyler Myers. The mechanical damage was catastrophic. 00:10:43.529 --> 00:10:46.730 He completely tore both the anterior cruciate 00:10:46.730 --> 00:10:49.330 ligament, the ACL, and the medial collateral 00:10:49.330 --> 00:10:52.610 ligament, the MCL, in his right knee. Just a 00:10:52.610 --> 00:10:55.129 total blowout. His season was instantly over. 00:10:55.330 --> 00:10:57.549 The human element of that moment is absolutely 00:10:57.549 --> 00:11:00.490 heartbreaking. According to the Wikipedia text, 00:11:00.629 --> 00:11:02.549 as he was processing the fact that his knee was 00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:05.490 destroyed, Malkin texted the Penguins general 00:11:05.490 --> 00:11:08.389 manager at the time, Ray Shiro. The text was 00:11:08.389 --> 00:11:11.409 just two words. I'm sorry. That detail stops 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:13.789 you in your tracks. Here is an elite athlete 00:11:13.789 --> 00:11:16.529 facing a grueling, painful six -month surgical 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:19.149 reconstruction, and his immediate instinct is 00:11:19.149 --> 00:11:21.450 to apologize to his boss for getting hurt. Yeah. 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:24.019 Shiro immediately responded by telling him he 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:26.700 had absolutely nothing to apologize for. It reveals 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:28.799 a profound sense of responsibility and loyalty 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:30.860 Malkin felt toward the franchise that drafted 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:33.720 him. I want you to reflect on what it takes to 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:36.019 mentally and physically recover from that. I 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:39.220 mean, your body is your livelihood. A reconstructed 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:41.620 knee changes your skating stride, your power, 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:44.419 your agility. Many players return from double 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:47.159 ligament tears as shadows of their former selves. 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:51.679 Yet, Malkin's 2011 -2012 comeback season is the 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:54.080 stuff of legend. It is the ultimate testament 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:57.000 to his resilience. Coming into that season, Sidney 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.899 Crosby was missing significant time battling 00:11:59.899 --> 00:12:02.259 post -concussion syndrome. So Malkin had to carry 00:12:02.259 --> 00:12:04.149 the team. He had to carry the offensive load, 00:12:04.309 --> 00:12:06.389 playing heavily on a line with winger James Neal. 00:12:06.570 --> 00:12:09.049 And he didn't just return to form, he exploded. 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:12.409 Malkin scored a career -high 50 goals and racked 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:15.669 up 109 points. In an era where scoring was really 00:12:15.669 --> 00:12:18.309 difficult, he was the only player in the entire 00:12:18.309 --> 00:12:20.269 National Hockey League to hit the 100 -point 00:12:20.269 --> 00:12:22.730 mark that season. The only player in the entire 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:25.279 league. He captured his second Art Ross trophy 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.419 for the scoring title, won the Hart Trophy as 00:12:27.419 --> 00:12:29.899 the Undisputed League MVP, and took home the 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:32.460 Ted Lindsey Award, which is the MVP as voted 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:34.360 on by his fellow players. Which means a lot. 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:36.980 Having your peers vote you as the best player 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:39.179 in the world after you've spent the previous 00:12:39.179 --> 00:12:41.220 year learning how to bend your knee again is 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:43.590 incredible. That resilience became a defining 00:12:43.590 --> 00:12:46.289 theme of his later career. Just look at the Penguins 00:12:46.289 --> 00:12:48.789 historic back to back Stanley Cup championships 00:12:48.789 --> 00:12:52.830 in 2016 and 2017. The physical grind of playing 00:12:52.830 --> 00:12:55.529 that much high stakes hockey in the modern salary 00:12:55.529 --> 00:12:59.370 cap era is immense. And Malkin was battling severe 00:12:59.370 --> 00:13:01.629 injuries the entire time. He was always fighting 00:13:01.629 --> 00:13:04.269 through something. Always. He missed the end 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:06.889 of the 2016 regular season with an upper body 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:09.190 injury but returned just in time to help them 00:13:09.190 --> 00:13:12.029 capture the cup. Then, in the 2017 playoffs, 00:13:12.309 --> 00:13:14.470 despite everything his body had endured over 00:13:14.470 --> 00:13:16.889 a decade in the league, he led all players in 00:13:16.889 --> 00:13:19.570 postseason scoring with 28 points in 25 games, 00:13:19.690 --> 00:13:22.190 securing his third Stanley Cup ring. From there, 00:13:22.269 --> 00:13:24.629 the timeline is just a relentless flurry of historical 00:13:24.629 --> 00:13:27.870 milestones. His late career longevity is remarkable. 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:32.240 In November 2022, he played his 1 ,000th NHL 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.500 game. According to the biography, he joined Sidney 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:38.100 Crosby as the only players in history to play 00:13:38.100 --> 00:13:41.419 1 ,000 games exclusively for the Pittsburgh Penguins 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:44.600 franchise. And he didn't slow down as he approached 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:47.519 his late 30s. Just look at the start of the 2024 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:51.049 -2025 season. He came out of the gate and completely 00:13:51.049 --> 00:13:53.070 rewrote the history books in the span of a single 00:13:53.070 --> 00:13:55.470 week. The concentration of milestones in October 00:13:55.470 --> 00:13:59.570 2024 was unprecedented. On October 10th, he recorded 00:13:59.570 --> 00:14:03.460 his 800th career assist. Two days later, on October 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:07.639 12th, he notched his 1 ,300th career NHL point. 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:10.279 Wow. And then just four days after that, on October 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:13.000 16th, he scored his 500th career goal during 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:15.480 an overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres. Only 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:17.820 48 players in the century -long history of the 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:20.379 NHL have ever reached 500 goals, and he became 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:22.840 only the 24th player to accomplish it while playing 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.879 for a single franchise. But to fully understand 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:28.679 Evgeny Malkin, we have to look beyond the NHL. 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.340 His status as a Russian sports icon is equally 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:33.600 vital to his story. Internationally, Malkin's 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.740 resume is phenomenal. He's represented Team Russia 00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:37.840 at three separate Winter Olympic Games. And the 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:40.820 World Championships. Yes, the absolute crown 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:43.139 jewel of his international career is the 2012 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:47.019 IIHF World Championship. Malkin was named the 00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:49.840 MVP of that tournament. He scored 19 points, 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:52.600 setting a new all -time record for Russian players 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.720 at the World Championships. 19 points in a short 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.220 tournament. He recorded at least one point in 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:00.539 every single game, delivered two hat -tricks, 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:03.159 and led Russia straight to the gold medal. His 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.720 impact on Russian hockey is so profound that 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:09.019 in 2020 he was named to the IIHF All -Time Russia 00:15:09.019 --> 00:15:12.059 Team. That placement puts him shoulder to shoulder 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:15.159 with Soviet hockey gods like Sergei Makarov and 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:17.879 Sergei Fedorov. That deep connection to his homeland 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:19.820 occasionally brings him into the broader cultural 00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:22.440 and political spotlight. The sources touch on 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:25.659 his life off the ice, noting that in 2017, Malkin 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:27.980 joined a social movement called Putin Team. Which 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:30.039 was originally launched by his draft class peer, 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.879 Alexander Ovechkin. Right. The biographical sources 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.200 provide specific context regarding his decision 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:37.860 to join this movement. When discussing his membership 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:39.879 publicly, Malkin stated his reasoning clearly. 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:42.340 I quote, we just try to offer our support because 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:44.919 in 2018 we have the World Cup in Russia. They 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.080 have elections too. So what does this all mean? 00:15:47.470 --> 00:15:50.129 As a deep dive, it is crucial to state that we 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:53.090 aren't here to endorse, condemn, or analyze the 00:15:53.090 --> 00:15:55.549 ethics of that viewpoint. We are strictly reporting 00:15:55.549 --> 00:15:57.850 the historical facts laid out in his biography 00:15:57.850 --> 00:16:01.309 to give you a complete picture of his life. And 00:16:01.309 --> 00:16:03.710 what makes that picture so complex is that his 00:16:03.710 --> 00:16:06.809 biography also highlights very deep, permanent 00:16:06.809 --> 00:16:09.610 ties to the United States. The dual worlds he 00:16:09.610 --> 00:16:12.490 inhabits are a crucial piece of the puzzle. The 00:16:12.490 --> 00:16:15.049 Wikipedia article explicitly notes that Malkin 00:16:15.049 --> 00:16:17.649 holds American citizenship. He does. He is publicly 00:16:17.649 --> 00:16:20.330 referred to Pittsburgh as his second home. And 00:16:20.330 --> 00:16:22.730 he noted that his child, who was born in 2016, 00:16:23.129 --> 00:16:26.129 also holds an American passport. He maintains 00:16:26.129 --> 00:16:28.649 a fierce loyalty to his Russian roots while firmly 00:16:28.649 --> 00:16:30.750 planting his family's future in the United States. 00:16:31.029 --> 00:16:33.710 It is a fascinating juxtaposition. Let's pull 00:16:33.710 --> 00:16:36.169 all these threads together. From the little kid 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:39.240 learning to skate. at age three in the steel 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:43.059 -dominated industrial town of Magnitogorsk, to 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:45.340 the 20 -year -old invoking international labor 00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:49.000 laws via fax machine to defect in Finland, from 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.279 having his knee completely shattered to bouncing 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:54.389 back with a 50 -goal MVP season. three Stanley 00:16:54.389 --> 00:16:57.750 Cups, two scoring titles, a playoff MVP and over 00:16:57.750 --> 00:17:00.549 500 career goals. If we connect this to the bigger 00:17:00.549 --> 00:17:03.529 picture, we have to examine exactly how he played 00:17:03.529 --> 00:17:06.369 the game to achieve this staggering list of accolades. 00:17:06.470 --> 00:17:08.789 His playing style presents a physical paradox. 00:17:09.069 --> 00:17:11.029 What do you mean? Well, he possesses the massive, 00:17:11.069 --> 00:17:14.049 intimidating size of a power forward at 6 '5". 00:17:14.049 --> 00:17:16.369 In his early years, he was known for being highly 00:17:16.369 --> 00:17:19.029 physical and throwing crushing hits. But he also 00:17:19.029 --> 00:17:21.289 possesses the delicate stick handling, elite 00:17:21.289 --> 00:17:24.430 hockey IQ, and agility of a much smaller finesse 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:26.829 player. A rare combination. He is essentially 00:17:26.829 --> 00:17:30.549 a playmaker trapped in a linebacker's body. Stephen 00:17:30.549 --> 00:17:33.609 Stamkos, another legendary player. observed that 00:17:33.609 --> 00:17:36.130 what separates Malkin from other gifted offensive 00:17:36.130 --> 00:17:39.130 talents is that he doesn't mind the physicality. 00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:42.430 He will willingly take a brutal check or deliver 00:17:42.430 --> 00:17:45.250 one just to buy the extra half second needed 00:17:45.250 --> 00:17:48.049 to make a play. His former line mate, James Neal, 00:17:48.170 --> 00:17:51.170 echoed that sentiment perfectly. Neil described 00:17:51.170 --> 00:17:53.730 Malkin simply as a guy who wants the puck all 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:56.990 the time. Neil's entire offensive strategy was 00:17:56.990 --> 00:17:59.089 just to get Malkin the puck as fast as humanly 00:17:59.089 --> 00:18:01.289 possible, knowing Malkin had the supernatural 00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:03.509 vision on the ice to find him right back for 00:18:03.509 --> 00:18:06.029 a scoring chance. He commands the game every 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:08.109 time he steps over the boards. Having the physical 00:18:08.109 --> 00:18:10.650 tools to overpower defenders, combined with the 00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:12.910 soft hands to dangle around them, and the vision 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:15.190 to thread passes through them, is what cements 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:17.490 his overall legacy in the context of hockey history. 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.380 Which brings me to a final thought I want you, 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:22.480 the listener, to mull over long after we wrap 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:24.980 up today. Evgeny Malkin has spent his entire 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:28.680 career in a highly unique, almost unprecedented 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.369 position. He was drafted second overall. Forced 00:18:32.369 --> 00:18:34.430 to watch his countryman, Alexander Ovechkin, 00:18:34.470 --> 00:18:37.769 go first. And then he spent the next two decades 00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:40.049 playing on the exact same team as Sidney Crosby. 00:18:40.349 --> 00:18:42.849 He has spent his entire professional life sharing 00:18:42.849 --> 00:18:44.950 the spotlight, sharing the ice, and sharing the 00:18:44.950 --> 00:18:47.670 franchise with another generational talent. He 00:18:47.670 --> 00:18:49.640 has always been part of a tandem. Always the 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.279 1A or 1B. Exactly. So I want you to ponder this. 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:55.859 If Evgeny Malkin had gone to a different franchise 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:59.420 back in 2004, a team where he was the sole undisputed 00:18:59.420 --> 00:19:01.599 face of the organization from day one, where 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:04.200 every single offensive play ran exclusively through 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:06.460 him every single night, would we be talking about 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:08.619 him today not just as a great player, but potentially 00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:11.299 as the absolute undisputed greatest player of 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:14.220 his generation? It is a fascinating what -if 00:19:14.220 --> 00:19:16.539 built right into the fabric of his incredibly 00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:19.329 real, incredibly resilient career. Thank you 00:19:19.329 --> 00:19:21.250 so much for joining us for this deep dive into 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:23.349 the source material. We will catch you next time.