Brian Burke reveals Penguins nearly broke up legendary trio in 2022

On Tuesday night, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang became the first trio of players to suit up together as teammates for 20 seasons in the history of the NHL.

The two superstar centers and star defenseman have been Pittsburgh Penguins for life and accomplished just about everything you could ask for through their lengthy tenure. 

As they've reached their late thirties, the success of the team has understandably fallen off from the days when making the playoffs and competing for the Stanley Cup was a given every single season. 

Perhaps the Penguins should have seen this coming, as Father Time is unmatched, though former president of hockey operations Brian Burke recently revealed that they almost did proactively break up the band in 2022 by trading one or both of Malkin and Letang. 

Here were Burke's comments from his appearance on The Sheet with Jeff Marek.

"Yes, we talked about trading both Tanger and Geno (Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin) if they wouldn't take pay cuts, but they both did. And so to me, I said to Ron, 'If we want to keep the band together, if we want to see what we can do with this group, then they have to take pay cuts,' and they both did," Burke said.

The 39-year-old Malkin just began the fourth and final season of the four-year, $24.4 million extension he signed with the Penguins in 2022, while the 38-year-old Letang just entered the fourth season of the six-year, $36.6 million deal he signed to extend with the Pens in 2022. 

Outlook of the Pens trio

While it's interesting to look back and imagine what could have been had Malkin or Letang been unwilling to take less money to stay in Pittsburgh, let's look forward when it comes to this trio. 

Crosby and Malkin have been particularly emphatic about their desire to stay together in Pittsburgh for the entirety of their careers, and despite rumors about his retirement, a good 2025-26 season from Malkin will likely result in another contract with the Penguins. 

Letang hasn't been as vocally committal to being a Pen for life, though at this point it's very difficult to envision a scenario where a move elsewhere could materialize. 

Speculation aside, these three are Pittsburgh Penguins now, and they hope that will remain the case when things turn around, whenever that time comes.