>> |
CapitalistBastard
!!f/pELCnjRD0
"That's the real purpose of why we gave them an idea up front, so they could go to Hossa and have some certainty about what they're doing," Barry said. "The very reason we got out in front of this with Pittsburgh was to help them.
"My understanding is that priority No. 1 is Evgeni Malkin, priority No. 2 is Marian Hossa and you move down from there. If that's not the priority, I'd like to hear that."
Having Malkin under contract at a cut rate could make him more tradeable. Even though Malkin won't be eligible for a no-trade clause for a few years, Barry was adamant that implicit in him accepting less money is that the Penguins won't deal him.
"There is a risk [of him being traded at some point in the future], and that's something we'll talk about, too," he said. "The purpose is not to negotiate a deal to help Pittsburgh and [have Malkin] not be in Pittsburgh."
Malkin played for his hometown team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, in the Russian Super League, the forerunner to the Continental League. He left in 2006 and won a league challenge by Magnitogorsk, which contended he had a valid contract.
Malkin, however, insisted he signed that agreement under duress, and a federal court in New York ruled in his favor.
The Toronto Star reported yesterday that "several teams" in the new league were interested in having Malkin on their roster when it begins play Sept. 2. That prompted a hard-line reaction by Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
|