From the rumor mill...

First off- DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING YOU READ HERE IS RUMOR AND NOT TRUE DO NOT TAKE IT AS FACT UNTIL IT IS ANNOUNCED BY PENGUINS MANAGEMENT

With the NHL's annual awards show ending last night, Evgeni Malkin walked away empty handed to a very deserving Alex Ovechkin in the top categories of MVP and Pearson (MVP as voted by players). It was not uneventful, though.

There was some good news to come from the events. I'll pull out the key points for you lazy folk:

But he said the prize he really covets -- a long-term contract extension with the Penguins -- is on its way.

"I'm thinking maybe five or six years," said Malkin, set to enter the final season of his three-year entry-level deal. "I'm an easy guy to deal with. I'd love to stay in Pittsburgh."

The NHL's collective bargaining agreement forbids the Penguins from signing Malkin to an extension until July 1. Malkin said he expects the extension will be signed "soon" after that date.

Further:

Malkin added that his annual salary did not need to top the $8.7 million teammate and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will average each of the next five seasons. Crosby signed a five-year extension worth $43.5 million last summer that picks up this season.

This squashes the floating words of Malkin seeking the spotlight on his own or a max contract around $10 million or $11 million a year. And:

He also shrugged off speculation the Penguins will trade him this summer to create salary-cap space necessary to sign several impending free agents, including forwards Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone and defenseman Brooks Orpik.

"Those are just rumors," Malkin said, through an interpreter. "I don't even pay attention to those."

And to his credit, he confronts his poor play in the Finals head on:

Illness, Malkin said, was partially to blame for his decline in production.

"I didn't have an injury or anything; I just had a little fever," Malkin said. "I wasn't ready for the final. It was probably just me. I lost my game. At the end of the final I thought I found my touch again, but it was too late."

That's it on the Malkin front. When it comes to Hossa, the rumor mills are spinning and they look promising.

Another blog (here) posted a rumbling they heard of Shero making an offer to Hossa of 6 years for $38 million ($6.3 million a year). That is far under his market value (which could be near $8 million), but as he states here:

"If I wanted to make a couple more dollars, I would probably just re-sign with Atlanta," Hossa said. "But I'm glad Pittsburgh got me here. This was a fun journey for myself, and a great experience. I hope I can stick with a great team like this.

"There's always a limit, but I'd rather take a little less and play on a good team, definitely."

Now that blog is not the most trust worthy to say the least, but it's encouraging news.

They also have a blurb about Fleury:

It's has been very quiet on the Marc Andre Fleury front which usually indicates a deal is close. There are a lot of numbers are being thrown around but a consistent one I've been hearing in recent days is 6yrs - 27 million. That would pay Fleury 4.5 million per season but prior to the Stanley Cup, Fleury's agent was seeking a 5 year deal at 5 million per season.

Another rumor going around has the Pens possibly getting a first round pick back. The rumor states that the Pens would trade the rights to two of their unrestricted free agents to the Blue Jackets before July 1st (similar to what Philly and Nashville did last year with Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell) so they can try to sign them to contracts before they become free agents, and in return for these negotiation rights the Penguins would get the Blue Jackets #18 pick. With the draft coming up there isn't much time to work this out, so expect to find out soon how true this is.

Finally, some news on Jordan Staal according to Rob Rossi:

Jordan Staal's situation is similar to the one with Malkin. As of July 1, his camp and the Penguins are allowed to open talks on an extension. As with Malkin, the Penguins wish to get Staal inked long-term. This one is a tougher read. Staal likes playing in Pittsburgh, but has some concerns with how he is used by the current coaching staff. He has told us he does not wish to be a third-line center and that is his role at the center position so long as Crosby and Malkin are Penguins. Also, Staal and his camp are at least intrigued by the idea of testing the restricted free agency waters on July 1, 2009 -- maybe not enough to prevent an extension agreement with the Penguins this summer, but perhaps enough to not feel obligated to reach terms on any offer from the Penguins. Of all the contract issues facing the Penguins, the one with Staal, to me, is the most intriguing and is worth paying most attention to. He is an invaluable part of their future.

While I'm not a fan of the coaching staff, I personally believe that they did and are doing the right thing having Staal on the third line. It's helped him improve his already above average defensive play, given him the chance to work on his face offs, and make strides (pardon the pun) in his skating (both speed, technique, and stamina). Most importantly, it's forced him to address the part of his game that he's weakest at: passing. The only thing I'd be upset about if I were Staal is not getting more power play time, which would increase if the coaching staff would actually split the power play into two units instead of one uber unit. Maybe in a few years you can move up, Jordan. Right now you're not cut out for it.

And from Rossi's article, one final bit about Hossa:

Hossa told us last week he really appreciates the opportunity he has with the Penguins to chase the Cup and rack up goals and points. However, he is the big prize of this free-agent class and he won't come cheap. Any reports that he and the Penguins have essentially reached a deal are not true. However, there are a few people in the organization with a lot of stroke -- they may even share the same household -- that fancy Hossa wearing a Skating Penguin crest for the next few years. Those people could influence just how hard the Penguins will push for Hossa.

So what he's saying is, "What Sid wants, Sid gets." That being said, Sid deserves someone of Hossa's calibur on his wing. Playing with Armstrong, Recchi, Ouellet, Hilbert, Leclair on his wing has made him force the play and take it all on his shoulders. The only players worth a damn that he's ever played with have retired early (Mario and Palffy). Since Malkin cant do it on his wing, Hossa is a great fit and provides and even more formidable 1-2 punch for the other team. Give Sid another winger with decent hands and speed and Malkin another grinding type (i.e. Niklas Hagman) and those top two lines will be two of the best in recent memory. Not to mention the whole team benefits from Hossa's stellar two way play.

As I said before, this is all speculation and nothing concrete. It just gives you something to think about and us something to talk about. As more breaks, we'll report it. -Nick