GMRS admitted to the Tribune that Malkin could be the highest Penguin player even above Crosby. This could very well mean the avg/yr is higher than Crosby but it will be interesting to see how Shero can pull this off especially considering he wants to keep Letang as well. "Shero did not say the Penguins would spare no expense to keep both players, but he confirmed that he and Crosby discussed the likelihood that Malkin might become the Penguins‘ highest paid player in terms of yearly salary."