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PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin is staying in Pittsburgh for quite some time.
The Penguins signed the MVP finalist to a five-year extension worth $43.5 million on Wednesday, a deal that will keep him under contract until the 2013-14 season. The 21-year-old forward still has one year left on his initial three-year, entry level contract.
His deal is equal to one signed by teammate Sidney Crosby that begins with the upcoming season.
“This is an important signing for our franchise and the city of Pittsburgh and we commend Evgeni on his commitment to the future of the franchise and the city,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said in a statement. “This signing continues to ensure the young core of this team can stay intact for years to come.”
The Penguins also signed a six-year contract with defenseman Brooks Orpik, considered by Shero to be a “mainstay.”
Without a new deal, Malkin could have become a free agent after next season. That led to speculation that Malkin could be dealt by the Penguins.
“There was never ever a consideration of trading Evgeni Malkin. I have never offered Evgeni Malkin to any team,” Shero told reporters.
Malkin will earn $9 million for each of the first four seasons of the deal and then $7.5 million in 2013-14. He has one year left at $984,000.
Malkin is arguably the team’s best player after Crosby. He scored 106 points, including 47 goals, last season and was an All-Star and a finalist for the Hart Trophy, which is given to the NHL’s most valuable player.
Malkin was selected by the Penguins with the second overall pick in the 2004 draft. He scored 33 goals in the 2006-07 season on his way to being named the league’s rookie of the year.
Financial terms of the contract with Orpik were not immediately available. The 27-year-old hard-hitter played 78 games last season, recording 10 assists and 11 points. Orpik ranked fifth in the NHL with 239 hits.
RED WINGS
DETROIT — Marian Hossa chose to join the Detroit Red Wings at a discount.
He hopes hoisting the Stanley Cup will make it worth the sacrifice.
Hossa signed a one-year contract with Detroit on Wednesday, and a person in the NHL told The Associated Press the deal is worth $7.45 million.
He had rebuffed a chance to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were reportedly offering $7 million a season as part of five-year contract after they lost the Stanley Cup finals to Detroit last month.
“It was a really tough decision for me to make,” Hossa said. “When I compared the two teams, I felt like I would have a little better of a chance to win the Cup in Detroit.”
The high-scoring winger was one of the key players who helped Pittsburgh advance to the Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to Detroit in six games.
With Hossa headed for Detroit, the most highly coveted forwards left on the free agent market are Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin. Sundin isn’t close to signing with anyone, and said Wednesday he needs more time to decide where, or if, he wants to play next season.
Hossa has scored at least 29 goals the past eight seasons and has 299 in his career, dating to 1998-99 — his first full season in the NHL — with the Ottawa Senators. He has 25 goals and 61 assists in 75 playoff games.
“We’re thrilled to be able to add Marian,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “He’s a premier power forward in the game, capable of scoring 30, 40, 50 goals.”
RANGERS
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Blue Jackets traded enigmatic offensive star Nikolai Zherdev and center Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers for defensemen Christian Backman and Fedor Tyutin on Wednesday.
Fritsche was thrilled to find himself going from the only NHL team to never make the playoffs to one that is a perennial power.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Fritsche, 22, who was the first Ohio native to play for the Blue Jackets, who joined the NHL in 2000. “I couldn’t be more excited. I’m going to a Stanley Cup contender with an abundance of talent.”
Zherdev, 23, gives the Rangers one of the NHL’s best one-on-one players, but also a Russian right winger who has frequently fallen into disfavor with management and teammates. He had a career-high 61 points last season with 26 goals and 35 assists, second on the Columbus team to captain Rick Nash.