CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Evgeni Malkin spent most of the last five months split between his homes in Miami and Russia, relaxing with his family and training hard in preparation for the coming season.
And to him, he said it felt as if every time he woke up and checked the news, he was reading about some new change involving his team back in his other home in Pittsburgh.
From a new president of hockey operations and general manager in Kyle Dubas, a slew of new hirings in all departments, the trade of the year that brought in reigning Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson, and a flurry of signings in free agency, the team Malkin came back to when he arrived back in Pittsburgh at the start of September was a whole lot different than the one he left at the end of last season.