Report: Penguins star is not happy in Pittsburgh.

Earlier this week rumors of a potential sale in Pittsburgh made waves across the National Hockey League and there may be more to the story than meets the eye. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada was a guest on Sportsnet 960 radio this morning and he alluded to the fact that Evgeni Malkin isn't very happy right now.

"I will tell you this – there have been rumors about Malkin’s happiness. About whether or not he wants to stay."

Friedman would go a step further and suggested Malkin may want out of Pittsburgh.

"I can tell you this – there are people around the league who have been saying they’ve been hearing rumors Malkin is not happy and would welcome a change of scenery."

So you may be wondering how this is related to the sale of the Penguins, well according to Friedman it's his belief that the franchise becomes more valuable and easier to sell without two particularly big contracts on the books.

“When you get knocked out of the playoffs and the day after your president comes out and says, ‘Look, we’re no t firing Mike Johnston, we’re not firing Jim Rutherford, we’re not trading Evgeni Malkin, and we’re not trading Sidney Crosby.’ "Now I can understand you coming out and saying the first two, but why would you need to say the next two. Why do you have to tell everybody we’re not trading Malkin or Crosby. And that’s when the sale rumors went wild. Because are the Pittsburgh Penguins a more valuable team to buy with Crosby and Malkin in the lineup or out of the lineup. And I think the answer is b.

It definitely seems like either one of or both Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle want to sell their stakes in the team, and an Evgeni Malkin trade may soon become a reality. Image courtesy Key Stone Press.