Rossi: Malkin paid like Crosby; needs to play like him

I don't know if anyone's read it yet or if has been posted on here, but I'd just like to give my thoughts on it.

Note: I won't even be mentioning the Ron Cook article, now that was ridiculous and I would talk about the need for wingers, but that topic has been nailed in the head so many times....

How fortunate for Malkin, the Penguins' most talented player, that he is not their most scrutinized, even though he and captain Sidney Crosby each count $8.7 million against the salary cap.

I want to start off saying that I think the criticism of Malkin is justified, but overblown. I realize that Malkin didn't have Wayne freakin' Gretzky predicting he would break his records, but Crosby received more criticism last year, when he was 3rd in points with 103 in 77 games, than Malkin has this year when he's 24th in points with 43 in 42 games.

Crosby was a marvel this past week in Western Canada, expertly handling off-ice responsibilities that Malkin usually begs to ignore (even in the comforts of Pittsburgh) — often using the excuse of a limited understanding of English to avoid PR situations that Crosby has handled since he was, oh, 13.

I know that Malkin understands English well enough to routinely give Crosby a break from granting interviews and shooting commercials to promote his team and sport. He chooses not to do much more than just play hockey, but he can just play hockey because of Crosby's willingness to do all the off-ice heavy lifting befitting a true superstar.

Well, Malkin's hockey isn't holding up his end of the bargain — and Crosby has surpassed him as the Penguins' best player.

Crosby is on pace for a career-best season in goals and faceoff percentage. That he was the superstar center absorbing the heat during the Penguins' recent losing ways, even though he was the player least responsible for those losses, only enhanced Crosby's Hart Trophy credentials by my voting eyes.

While Rossi's points about Malkin handling the media are valid to some extent, the only reason Crosby got all the attention in Canada is because he's the biggest hockey star in hockey's biggest country (the fact that he's going to be playing some games there in a month might've helped a little...). Now, I do think Malkin should speak to the media more. It's kind of bothered me that he mostly does interviews on nights that he and/or the team does well. I really wish he would speak to them after every game (who doesn't love Geno interviews?!), but in no way am I asking him to do as much as Sid (morning skate, practices, pre-game, post game, off days, etc.) Besides, I don't know what makes Rossi think that Crosby would be demanded less if Malkin spoke to the media more frequently - they're always going to want to speak to Crosby and there will always be more pressure on Crosby just because he's the captain and the face of the league.

Right now, he is to the best player debate what Conan O'Brien is to "The Tonight Show." Actually, O'Brien's future with NBC might be more promising than the Penguins' Stanley Cup hopes if Malkin doesn't rediscover his galloping greatness.

I think everyone will agree with me here that Malkin has to step it up. I also think everyone will agree that Malkin is at least the 3rd best player in the world (but it's hard to argue against Sid right now, imho); the problem is his mentality. I've always felt like that Crosby truly is that good Canadian boy next door but I think, when it comes to hockey, he has a really big ego - he knows how good he is and he'll do anything to be the best player in the world every single night (as well as win games, of course); I've never seen someone be so calm on the ice when the game's tight, then lose their shit when they're frustrated and the game's out of hand. Whenever Sid struggles, that ego helps him - he knows he's awesome and that the points are bound to come soon. Now Malkin on the other hand, we all know how awesome he is, but I think he doubts himself sometimes. I wonder if the Pens have ever thought about getting him a sports psychologist to get him in the right mentality.