Malkin, however, warned his prospective employees that he was not prepared to play second fiddle to Crosby, Pittsburgh's number one pick in the 2005 draft. "I'm not afraid of being compared to Crosby or anyone else for that matter," said the soft-spoken Russian, who has already been compared with Pittsburgh owner, the great Mario Lemieux, because of his size, talent and scoring ability. "Hopefully, next year in Pittsburgh we will both have an equal opportunity to show our skills," Malkin said of Crosby. "If he is better than me, then he deserves all the credit. But if I feel that he gets preferential treatment in any way, then I'll just rip up my contract with Penguins and go home."