Malkin has DEFECTED?!?!?!?!

[Baclava]

Woo-hoo! C'mon over dude...Sid the Kid will hide you out at Mario's house.

Penguins pick Malkin skates out on his Russian club

PITTSBURGH -- Evgeni Malkin, the star forward and Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick who has said repeatedly he wants to play in the NHL, left his Russian pro team during a training camp in Finland on Saturday, various Russian news services reported.

It was uncertain whether Malkin bolted from the team in an attempt to get to North America and play for the Penguins this season, but the Itar-Tass news agency, citing a source within the club, reported Malkin took his belongings and passport with him.

Malkin's departure from Metallurg Magnitogorsk of Russia's Super League would be yet another unexpected turn in an ever-changing story in which the Olympics star renegotiated his Russian contract from two seasons to one season last week, at the same time his North American-based agents were saying he wants to play in the NHL as soon as possible.

If Malkin is attempting to defect while in Finland, he would be the best-known hockey player to do so since Alexander Mogilny left the Soviet Union team following the world junior championships in Sweden in 1989 and defected to the United States so he could play for the Buffalo Sabres.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2547782

[Jack Rabbit]

1. Malkin plays hockey?

She seems a bit small for that, but she is vicious. I'll bet she'd defend herself well enough when a hockey game breaks out into a boxing match.

What position does she play? Right wing nut?

[davidinalameda]

6. very good!

:rofl:

[northzax]

2. I wonder if the NFL will let him play

if he's still under contract to the RSL?

[Baclava]

3. The NHL doesn't care...he was also drafted by the Pens

According to Reuters, Russian Superleague hockey club Metallurg Magnitogorsk will go through the legal route to get compensation for the loss of Malkin.

"The players, coaching staff are very upset because for four days Malkin was training with the team and suddenly he is gone without saying a word to anyone," club head Gennady Velichkin told Reuters on Sunday.

Malkin, who was drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2004, was with the team in Finland for training camp when he disappeared with his belongings and passport on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Russian player had signed a deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk that would have kept him in Russia until April 2008. However last week, he signed a new one-year deal with the team that would allow him to become a free agent and suit up with the Penguins in 2007-08.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=174134&hubname=nhl

[Lefty48197]

4. The though ought to scare the hell out of their opponents

Egads, that ugly face is enough to make grown men run in fear.

[Baclava]

5. Woo-Hoo!!!

Evgeni Malkin Signs With Penguins

By ALAN ROBINSON (AP Sports Writer)
From Associated Press
September 05, 2006 10:41 AM EDT

PITTSBURGH - Evgeni Malkin signed his first NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, slightly more than three weeks since slipping away from his Russian team and making a clandestine trip to the United States.

Malkin, who skated with Penguins star Sidney Crosby earlier in the day during an informal workout, watched wide-eyed as the team showed a highlights reel of some of his top plays to reporters.

The 19-year-old Malkin, widely considered the top player in the world not previously in the NHL, said while speaking though an interpreter that he was worried at times about his safety after sneaking away from his Russian Super League Metallurg Magnitogorsk team in Helsinki.

"I definitely was a little concerned," Malkin said, speaking through interpreter Olga McQueen.

While waiting for his visa, he stayed for three days in a hotel only about a half-mile from the Russian Embassy and had to walk past it to go to the American Embassy and get his travel visa to the United States.

Malkin has been training in Los Angeles since arriving in the United States on Aug. 17, but will begin working out with the Penguins as they prepare to open rookie training camp Friday.

"It is a very exciting day for the Pittsburgh Penguins and we commend Evgeni on his courage to come to Pittsburgh and live out his dream to play in the NHL," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said.

Malkin arrived in Pittsburgh on Monday night and had dinner at team owner Mario Lemieux's house, then took part in an informal skate with some Penguins players before attending Tuesday's news conference.

"I've always been very open in my desire to come to come to North America and be one of the best here," Malkin said.

Malkin's contract terms are effectively set by the NHL labor agreement, and he signed a deal identical to that reached by last season's rookie of the year, Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin, drafted immediately ahead of Malkin, has a base salary of $984,2000, plus incentives worth $2.85 million per season. Ovechkin's contract includes $850,000 in relatively easy-to-reach incentives and another $2 million in additional bonuses such as winning a major league award