Potential trade destinations for Penguin Evegeni Malkin.

Despite Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford calming he doesn't intend to trade Evegeni Malkin, it appears that Pittsburgh is a position where they must at the very least explore the possibility. Malkin is without a doubt a superstar in the NHL but this season exposed Pittsburgh's lack of depth, and as a result injuries decimated them prior to and during the playoffs. Moving Malkin's $9.5 million dollar cap hit would give the Penguins a lot of flexibility, and one has to imagine they could expect a lot back in the trade. Here are the three teams we believe are the most likely to pull the trigger on a deal for Malkin. 1. Calgary Flames The Flames have an unbelievable amount of cap space and an abundance of young talent.,Both these things make Calgary the most likely destination for a potential Malkin trade. The Flames would gain a bonafied star to help them reach the next level, while Pittsburgh could add depth to their line up at a relatively low cost. Potential trading chips for the Flames include guys like T.J. Brodie, Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennet, Joe Colborne and more. 2. Vancouver Canucks It appears the Canucks need a major shake up if they want to return to their legit Cup contender status from a couple years ago. The Canucks have both established veteran stars like the Sedins as well as young talent to offer up in a potential trade. A combination of one or both Sedins moving to Pittsburgh with Malkin becoming a Canuck would certainly make for a blockbuster trade. Potential trading chips for Vancouver include players like The Sedin Twins, Sven Baertschi, Nicklas Jensen, Jake Virtanen and more 3. The Florida Panthers A very similar situation to Calgary the Panthers find themselves in need of a true #1 star player and they have both the cap space to absorb the cap hit as well as a ton of young talent on their roster. While a young stud like Aleksander Barkov may not be something the Panthers are willing to part with, they could still afford to give the Penguins some serious depth in a trade for Malkin. Players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Dmitry Kulikov, Michael Matheson, Nick Bjugstad and others could be included in a trade for Malkin.