#metallurg

There was his first trip to Mellon Arena yesterday morning, with sights along the way pointed out, including the two North Shore stadiums.

There was the signing of his Penguins rookie contract, three years at $984,200 per year plus incentive bonuses that could top $2 million, followed by a news conference with plenty of lights and clicking cameras.

Malkin, 20, who speaks very little English, watched intently as the team played a promotional highlight video of some of his more spectacular goals. He answered several questions through interpreter Olga McQueen, looking at the questioners but showing little emotion. His few smiles came during the photo ops, when he was presented a No. 71 Penguins jersey by Lemieux and when he posed with others.

The difficult journey is over for Malkin. The Penguins and his agents, J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson, remain braced for a legal battle with his Russian team, Magnitogorsk Metallurg, which could contest Malkin playing in the NHL.

"I expect that something will happen in the next month, but based on the information we're receiving, we feel very strongly about the steps that we're taking under Russian law," said Barry, adding that Malkin stands on strong ground because he signed a one-year contract with Metallurg under duress, then submitted proper two-week notice to nullify it.

Malkin's long transition started about a month ago, when Metallurg, his hometown team in the Russian Super League, pressured him into signing a one-year contract in the wee hours of the morning.

"The next day, after I signed the contract, I was very upset and I looked forward to leaving as soon as I could," Malkin said. "That's why I phoned J.P. Barry and asked for help."

Barry met Malkin when the player slipped away from Metallurg at the Helsinki, Finland, airport. The two remained there five days until Malkin could get a visa to travel to the United States.

"The team was training only 10 miles away, and we were only 1 kilometer from the Russian embassy," Barry said. "We needed to get to the American embassy to get the visa, so we were basically going right by the Russian embassy walking down the road. We had to be quiet and subtle about what we were doing."

Some considered Malkin missing, and there were some fears about his safety or that of his parents in Magnitogorsk.

"When I was in Helsinki, I definitely was a bit concerned, but not that much," Malkin said. "I had the feeling, knowing Mr. [Gennady] Velichkin [general director of Metallurg] for so many years, he wouldn't go for any harsh measures."

Once he got the visa, Malkin flew to Los Angeles and trained there with NHL players. He said he was able to reassure his parents and help soothe bitter fans.

"I can understand my fans pretty well," he said. "When I signed the contract with Magnitogorsk, they felt very happy about me staying in Russia and playing with the club. But after what happened, I'm sure they were upset.

"Later on, I got a chance to call a few friends of mine and explain what was going on, that I was happy about my decision and that it was my dream to come here and play with the Pittsburgh Penguins club. I was always open about my desire to come to North America. My friends understood me, and now I keep in touch with them and my family in Russia. I know that everything will calm down."

And Malkin (his first name is yev-GEN-ee with a hard "G") can get on with his career, one that has seen him shine with Metallurg and in international play, including the Olympics in February. He will participate in the team's rookie camp starting Friday. Practices Saturday and Sunday will be open to the public from 10-11:30 a.m. at Mellon Arena. Malkin, 6 feet 3 and 192 pounds, has the size and deceptive speed reminiscent of Lemieux, but he also has a strong physical side to his play.

"With his reach and his size, he's got a lot of talent," said Lemieux, who looked to be a hair taller than the newest Penguin.

Lemieux understands the transition Malkin faces.

"I told him that I didn't speak any English until I came to Pittsburgh," said Lemieux, a native of Montreal who was the first overall draft pick in 1984. "I'm the perfect example that you can make it work. I know it's going to take some time, the first year or so, to get acclimated to a new culture, but I'm sure he'll do fine."

Malkin will live with Gonchar, a Russian-born Penguins defenseman.

Shero hopes that will help Malkin be as comfortable as possible and vowed to do whatever it takes to help him thrive.

When Malkin disappeared from his Russian team on Aug. 12 and immediately went into hiding just days after signing a new contract, people from Moscow to Moose Jaw were stunned.

Why sign a new contract with a team only to leave them days later• And why flee the way Russian players had to under the Communist regime when the country is now free and anyone can leave at any time?

The story goes back to last summer when team officials made a verbal promise to Malkin that if he played one more year for them, they would support him leaving for the NHL and the Penguins in 2006.

But those same team officials had other ideas, and after a transfer agreement between the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the NHL fell through on Aug. 2 of this year, it sparked a series of events that led to Malkin's dramatic escape to the United States.

With an easy transfer no longer a possibility, Malkin's then-agents, Newport Sports, took advantage of a loophole in Russian labor law that allows an employee to give two-weeks' notice and walk away from the job, even if the employee is under contract. But what Malkin didn't know was that, inexplicably, his Russian-based Newport agent had turned his passport over to the team.

When Malkin asked for it back, general director Gennady Velichkin refused to hand it over.

So while Malkin himself wasn't being held hostage, his passport was.

Malkin fired his agents at Newport and went back to Brisson and Barry, who represented him for several years up until June. They barely had time to figure out their next course of action before Malkin and his parents were "invited" to a 9 p.m. meeting with team officials at a lakeside business center outside of Magnitogorsk.

That was on Aug. 6.

Team president Viktor Rashnikov started the meeting and, according to Malkin, expressed "his point of view" and the team's interest in Malkin staying another year. But Malkin and his family said that they would not sign a new contract.

"I still wanted to play in the NHL this season," Malkin said.

Malkin said Rashnikov stood up, thanked everyone and left.

But it wasn't over.

Not even close.

Malkin and his family left the office and went outside where they were joined again by Velichkin and another team official who suggested they follow the Malkins home to continue "negotiations."

"They didn't want to give up," Malkin said. "They hoped very much that the contract would be signed at that point at our house."

By this time, Brisson and Barry, who knew the meeting was taking place, were getting concerned. They'd called the Malkin home at 11 p.m. and Malkin's brother informed them that his family wasn't home yet.

Later, McQueen, who was already working with Barry and Brisson, called the house and got Malkin's mother, Natalia, on the phone. She whispered that she could not talk, and told them that Magnitogorsk officials were there in the home, talking to Malkin.

Malkin's Russian advisor and ally of Brisson and Barry, Gennady Ushakov, was also there, but there was not much he could do to help. McQueen relayed to Natalia Malkin that her son had the legal right to get up and leave at any time. But although Malkin said he was never in physical danger, Velichkin was nonetheless pressuring the 20-year-old, preying on his feelings of loyalty to the only team he'd ever known, the town he grew up in and his country.

This continued from midnight until 2:30 a.m., Malkin said, until finally he couldn't stand it anymore and gave in. He signed a one-year deal to stay in Russia even though his only wish was to go to the NHL and play for the Penguins.

He went to his bedroom in tears.

The escape

Malkin felt betrayed. The team had nurtured him throughout his career and had always been there for him, but when he knew it was his time to be in the NHL, he realized they were concerned only with their own interests.

"After I had the contract signed, I felt so upset and I felt deceived by Velichkin," Malkin said. "I felt something had to be done about that, so I phoned J.P. the next day and asked him to help me to leave. I was so determined."

Magnitogorsk was scheduled to play a game in Moscow and then travel to Helsinki for a tournament. His team believed he was staying, and Malkin had to get his passport back in order to leave Russia. So Barry and McQueen planned to meet him in Helsinki, and when Malkin hit Finnish land, he snuck away from the team in the airport, met Barry and McQueen and the three went into hiding in a Helsinki apartment waiting for the U.S. Consulate to re-open so Malkin could get his visa.

He knew it was his only option.

"I was not frightened," Malkin said. "I was calm."

The whole time, Malkin was just blocks from his Russian team, and for that reason his agents hired security guards to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

At no time was Malkin in fear of any physical harm, he said. But he was worried about his family.

"I was very much concerned about my family because I expected Mr. Velichkin to start making phone calls and be not quite polite with my family," he said. "I was also worried that lawyers would start calling and contacting my family trying to get them to sign any kind of documents. Which has already happened. They received calls and were asked to sign papers."

But he knew it was his only choice.

Settling in

Malkin got his visa Wednesday and late that night he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. Since then he's skated with a few current NHL players including defenseman Rob Blake and forward Anson Carter, dined on steak, found a favorite breakfast haunt in Venice and spent a lot of time swimming in the hotel pool under the warm California sunshine.

"I'm glad that I'm here," Malkin said. "I wish things could have been done in a different way, amicably. It's been a very difficult decision for me to make. But I knew that I had to do that. I do recall that Velichkin said if I leave that there can be a huge, huge scandal, which obviously has happened. But I do know that now that I am in the right place for myself.

"It was the only way, unfortunately."

Malkin's ordeal may not yet be over.

He will remain in Santa Monica with Brisson and McQueen at least through Aug. 28, two weeks after he again gave written notice that he was leaving the team. Velichkin has claimed that the faxed notification is partly illegible and has threatened to sue. While no lawsuits are currently pending, Brisson said that their legal team is forming its own plan right now.

The Penguins' top pick in 2004 (2nd overall) also still has to sign a contract with the team, although at this point that is considered to be a technicality.

But he's a lot closer to being in the lineup on Oct. 5 when the Penguins open the 2006-07 season against the Philadelphia Flyers than he was two weeks ago. And as much as the Penguins and their fans want to see that happen, Malkin probably wants it 10 times as much.

Otherwise he wouldn't have gone through all he did the past few weeks and then brush aside the suggestion that what he did required courage or bravery.

"I believe that anyone who would have such a dream to play in the NHL for a long time would probably have made the same step as I had to do," he said, "to follow the dream."

The Malkin file

Malkin was the face of Metallurg and the KHL, as Crosby is the Penguins and the NHL.

Admittedly, Malkin “started slow” with Metallurg, but he was second in KHL scoring when the NHL lockout tentatively ended Jan. 6. He finished that season with 23 goals and 65 points in 37 games.

Over the last 12 months, playing in the NHL and KHL — widely regarded as the planet's two finest leagues — Malkin has scored 55 goals and recorded 133 points in 75 games.

During the lockout, Crosby described the level at which Malkin has played as “awesome.”

“Geno, really, can do whatever he wants when he's playing his game,” Crosby said. “What he did last season was pretty incredible when you think about it.”

For the uninitiated, or anybody who may have simply put Malkin out of mind when he was out of sight and out of the country, a recap of his last NHL season:

He missed seven of the Penguins' first 11 games, his surgically repaired right knee having flared up in the second game at Calgary. By the date of Crosby's heralded return from concussion symptoms Nov. 21, Malkin had produced five goals and 14 points in 13 games.

He finished with 50 goals, a career best, and 109 points in 75 games — or 45 goals and 95 points over his final 62 contests, a 1.53 per-game average during that span.

“And he did that after tearing two ligaments (anterior and medial collateral),” Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said about Malkin's injury in February 2011.

“People act like what (Minnesota Vikings running back) Adrian Peterson did after his knee injury was amazing. They don't realize Geno did the same thing, and basically wasn't right for the first two months last season.”

Malkin no longer wears protective gear on the right knee. He again welcomed Penguins strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar to Moscow over the summer to oversee offseason training.

Malkin lives in Moscow because he can easily get lost in Russia's capital, which is home to about 11.5 million. Magnitogorsk, where his parents and brother, Denis, still live, is a city of about 407,000.

“He never wants to be the biggest man in town,” said Gonchar, who shares a floor of an apartment complex with Malkin in Moscow.

Malkin felt like the biggest man in every KHL town Metallurg visited, save for Moscow.

He was not just a two-time NHL scoring champion, the reigning MVP, or a winner of the Stanley Cup. He is a fiercely proud Russian who led the national team to a 2012 World Championships win, leading the tournament in scoring.

“He's like a hero there,” Kulemin said of Malkin in Russia.

Malkin has nearly reached that status in Pittsburgh, the only city other than Magnitogorsk he has called home. Both cities are known for being the steel capitals of their respective countries. The people of each are proudly provincial, and they treat their brightest hockey stars as civic institutions.

That is not an honor made for Malkin, who Gonchar described as “smart, funny, big-hearted, but also very private.”

“Evgeni would like to play hockey, and he can be the best hockey player,” Gonchar said. “But maybe he would like best to do it out of the spotlight.”

Malkin, though, can no longer stand in the shadows — and not because he is 11th all-time in NHL history with 1.23 points per game, the high for any Russian.

Malkin will turn 27 on July 31.

By then, he likely will have either signed one of the richest contracts in Pittsburgh sports history or be uncomfortably heading down a path toward becoming the most coveted free agent in hockey.

The Penguins, because of the new NHL labor contract, can offer Malkin a maximum eight-year extension that could total about $102.9 million. General manager Ray Shero has been directed by ownership to keep Malkin with the Penguins through the duration of his career.

The thought of that possibility — playing alongside Crosby and annually chasing the Stanley Cup — drew a wide smile from Malkin on Tuesday.

A pause quickly followed.

“We'll see,” he said. “(I) can't say what will happen. I want to play in (the) NHL. Two years left on (my) contract, but I want to play in (the) NHL.”

Malkin stressed that by in the NHL, he specifically meant “with Pittsburgh.”

Still, there is the dangling carrot of a tax-free, whopping-cash contract in the KHL.