from Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea,

Sharks owner Hasso Plattner was adamant that when he mentioned Penguins star Evgeni Malkin’s name during a recent press conference, he was only using the Russian forward as an example and wasn’t tampering.

“We cannot buy the Stanley Cup,” said the billionaire founder of SAP on May 8, before casually mentioning that Malkin wasn’t a player the Sharks could just go out and spend to acquire.

Still, some ears in San Jose may have perked up a bit late last week when Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet (Canada) mentioned that Malkin might not be happy in Pittsburgh. The Penguins were recently eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and may be looking to shake things up this offseason now that it’s been six years since their last Stanley Cup and they fritter away the prime of Sidney Crosby’s career. Malkin is their highest paid player, carrying a $9.5 million salary cap hit through 2021-22.

Malkin’s agent predictably denied that his client was looking to be traded shortly after the report surfaced.

If both Malkin and the Penguins are ready for a change, though, there aren’t too many other teams that could take on Malkin’s salary.

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