Evgeni Malkin is and will always be an underrated superstar. Constantly shining, but often overlooked.
The National Hockey League’s Top 100 Players of All-Time list was recently announced. Although cases for other players from past eras could be made, there wasn’t a decade more controversial than the 2010s.
Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews all managed to crack the list, but one of the most obvious names was missing; Evgeni Malkin.
Since coming into the league in 2006, Malkin has dominated almost every shift he’s taken in one way or another. In the 691 games he’s played during his 11 seasons, he has 317 goals and 497 assists for a total of 814 points. This season he remains in third place in scoring with 54 points in 47 games, right behind teammate Crosby (55) and Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid (59).
This is where the statistics speak for themselves.
Malkin is one of only three players to win the Hart, Conn Smythe, Art Ross, Ted Lindsay and Calder. The two other players to do so are Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr. He also ranks 151st all-time in points and averages 1.178 points per game, which is good for 14th all-time in NHL history. Did I mention that this is all during the dead-puck era?
From winning almost every major offensive trophy to having two Stanley Cups underneath his belt, Malkin hasn’t stopped there. Below are the records that Malkin currently holds:
- First player since 1917–18 to score goals in each of his first six NHL games.
- Longest point streak by a Russian player in the NHL (15 games).
- Most consecutive post-season games with multiple points for the Pittsburgh Penguins (6 games).
- First Russian player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (2009).
- Second fastest Russian to score 500 NHL points (413 games). Behind only Alexander Ovechkin (373 games).
- One of nine Pittsburgh Penguins players and one of six Russian-born players to record 50 goals in a regular season.
- Second player and the first Russian player, ever to lead both the NHL and the IIHF World Championships in scoring in the same season (2011–12).
Sounds like he’s in elite company.
Don’t forget Malkin is doing this all while being the Pittsburgh Penguins number two guy behind Sidney Crosby. Most players ten seasons into their career would have had enough of always being runner-up, but not Malkin. Over the last few seasons, Malkin has stepped up and become one of the most vocal players in the locker room and to the media.
For the most part, no questions were raised over Crosby, Jagr and Ovechkin’s admissions on the Top 100 list. What made most people’s heads scratch were the three Chicago Blackhawks. Keith has been on a slow decrease ever since the Blackhawks’ last Stanley Cup victory. Kane has only ever reached the 30 goal milestone twice in his career and reached 100 points just once. Toews’ career high is 76 points while this season four Toronto Maple Leaf rookies have more points than him, which itself says something.
Apparently it doesn’t matter since they have three Stanley Cups apiece.
With the incredible careers so many NHL players have had, the only one under the age of 30 to have made the list should’ve been Crosby. Players like Jarome Iginla who have scored 30 goals for 12 consecutive non-lockout shortened seasons or Joe Thornton who has 1,372 career points, which is good for 24th all-time, should’ve made this list. These are two incredible players who have seen ups and downs throughout their career but have never gotten a taste of victory. Apparently having Stanley Cups and lacklustre seasons is more important than consistency.
The league now sadly has turned into a side-show that cares more about revenue and selling the sport to new markets instead of the actual quality of the game. Should we really be surprised about the noticeable players missing and the ones who shouldn’t even touch this list with a ten-foot pole? What still remains the same is that for the majority of his career and most likely years after he’s retired, Evgeni Malkin is and will always be an underrated superstar. Constantly shining, but often overlooked.
