Evgeni Malkin has taken his game to a whole new level in 2011-12. At the beginning of this season, with his fellow superstar Sidney Crosby dealing with concussion symptoms and himself coming off major knee surgery, the hockey world was eager to see what kind of impact Malkin could make.

He quickly made it quite apparent that there was no deterioration of his skills and his powerful ability to control the game in all areas of the ice. He also has become more of a leadership presence for the Penguins, something the team needed as, along with Crosby, the team has dealt with a plethora of injuries this season.

Malkin has become the catalyst for the Penguins both on the scoresheet and, it appears, in the dressing room.

Anyone who has ever watched Evgeni Malkin play the game of hockey understands what a unique and supreme talent he is on the ice. The dynamic talent from Magnitogorsk, Russia has been one of the most talked-about and followed talents in the game of hockey over the past decade.

‘Geno’ made good on all his promise when he arrived in the NHL, swiftly becoming a dominant player, leading the league in scoring and helping the Penguins capture a Stanley Cup, all in his first three seasons in North America.

After rediscovering his flash and dominant high-end talent, is once again the unstoppable scoring machine that hockey fans around the world were getting accustomed to watching. He obviously feels like his knee is back to 100 percent strength and with his ability to provide an offensive threat nearly every time he takes the ice, the Penguins will only get that much tougher to play against as the season winds on.

- Evgeni has scored 13 points in the Penguins past 7 games.

- He currently leads the NHL in scoring with 59 points in 43 games played.

- Was one of the premiere attractions at the recent NHL All-Star Weekend in Ottawa, bringing his blend of supreme talent and easygoing personality to the fans in Canada’s capital city.

An Enjoyable Change of Plans for Kris Letang
Gabby Grabs The Spotlight in Ottawa
Scott Hartnell At the Hart of All-Star Weekend
Video: Jordan Staal Interviewed by NHLPA.com In-Studio

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com

That, and the trade deadline.

The Penguins have accrued a little cap space over the course of the season by seeing most of their top-dollar players spend time on injured reserve. They lead the league in man-games lost to injury at 256.

CapGeek currently gives the Penguins $5.165 million in acquirable cap space for the remainder of the season, a number that will increase every day until the trade deadline with a number of players on long-term injured reserve.

Monetary considerations determine how most buyers handle the deadline. For the Pens, injuries to their big centers Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal and their projected returns will have more to do with how Pittsburgh approaches the deadline.

Of course, when Staal and (perhaps Crosby) return, that $5.1 million the Penguins have accrued from their absences will be lost for good.

The deadline hits Feb. 27 at 3:00 PM.

Given a healthy roster, the Penguins might not be making a single move this season. But having a healthy Penguins lineup seems as unlikely as seeing Zach Parise or Jarome Iginla don the black and vegas gold.

There are 25 days until the deadline. Instead of looking too far ahead to deals the Penguins may or may not swing, let's take a look back at General Manager Ray Shero's trade deadline history.

Begin Slideshow

Crosby suffered a concussion in January 2011 and missed the remainder of the regular season and the postseason. After returning in November of this season, he took a hit from David Krejci of the Boston Bruins on Dec. 6 and has been sidelined ever since.

While initial reports over the weekend said Crosby had two fractured vertebrae, the Penguins released a statement saying that there is no neck fracture. Rather, he has a soft-tissue injury that could be responsible for causing concussion symptoms.

Once again, though, there is no timeline for his return to the ice (though he is skating), and general manager Ray Shero stressed Crosby will come back when he is symptom-free.

All of this drama has some wondering if the Penguins should strip Crosby of his captaincy until he is healthy. It's an understandable question; however, I really don't think that is necessary.

Here are some reasons why the Penguins should not appoint a new leader.

Begin Slideshow

As was reported on their website and tweeted by Hockey Break, Crosby   is not suffering from a neck fracture. On the other hand, he is suffering from a soft tissue injury, which could contribute to neurological problems. 

What It Means

More uncertainty. It is certainly a good thing that Crosby isn't suffering from any neck injuries. Fans of Crosby, the Penguin, and the NHL in general should be extremely happy about that. 

Still, Crosby is a player that suffered two concussions in a calender year. So, hearing that he has an injury that could easily contribute to more of those problems is troubling. 

It has been nothing more than a guessing game with Crosby for a long time. Will he come back? If so, when? It is literally anyone's guess. Still, hearing that he has soft-tissue injuries doesn't suggest that he'll be back any time soon.

What's Next?

For the foreseeable future, we can't do anything but wait. There is no way that the doctors would ever clear Crosby to play if they feel he's in serious danger of more traumas to the head. They shouldn't clear him to play in that situation. Head and neck injuries can be extremely damaging and need to be taken seriously.

Still, from the perspective of a fan, it is frustrating. From Crosby's own perspective, one could only imagine what he and his team are going through. 

Until Crosby either retires or gets back on the ice on a more permanent basis, it will continue to be a waiting game. 

Follow @mdixon1985

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com

Despite missing time this year with a concussion, Letang continues to be one of the best defensemen on the Penguins (if not the best), and is starting to earn some recognition across the league. It is possible he could end up in Norris Trophy conversation as the awards season draws near.

So with this in mind, where does Letang, currently in his fourth full NHL season, rank among some of the greatest players to man the blue line for the Penguins?

Here is a look at the Top 25 defensemen in Pittsburgh Penguins history.

Begin Slideshow

He is currently leading the league in scoring, in spite of not leading his team in goals (a distinction that belongs to James Neal with 27 goals). His dominance comes in spite of the extremely good defensive coverage that he draws night after night.

The bottom line is, there is no player who can slow him down.

Now, I know that many would say that this is an overreaction for a player who only scored one goal in the game. But there is no denying it was an incredibly pretty goal, and it showed what he has been doing night in and night out.

Evgeni Malkin is not only incredibly big and strong, but also extremely motivated. Maybe he took it easy during this exhibition, but the combination of his skill and size was downright scary.

That goal in that game served as a reminder to me of the way that he has been tearing up the league in the past few weeks before the event. He is on a scary sort of roll right now and his team is looking very good.

If his old buddy Sidney Crosby can join him at the end of the year or the playoffs, then they will have a truly scary power play (Letang will be in full swing as well). Even without the rest of his friends, he is still hands down the best player in the league right now.

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com

He is currently leading the league in scoring, in spite of not leading his team in goals (a distinction that belongs to James Neal with 27 goals). His dominance comes in spite of the extremely good defensive coverage that he draws night after night.

The bottom line is, there is no player who can slow him down.

Now, I know that many would say that this is an overreaction for a player who only scored one goal in the game. But there is no denying it was an incredibly pretty goal, and it showed what he has been doing night in and night out.

Evgeni Malkin is not only incredibly big and strong, but also extremely motivated. Maybe he took it easy during this exhibition, but the combination of his skill and size was downright scary.

That goal in that game served as a reminder to me of the way that he has been tearing up the league in the past few weeks before the event. He is on a scary sort of roll right now and his team is looking very good.

If his old buddy Crosby can join him at the end of the year or the playoffs, then they will have a truly scary power play (Letang will be in full swing as well). Even without the rest of his friends, he is still hands down the best player in the league right now.

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com

Apparently, doctors in Utah and California that Crosby was consulting this All-Star week found abnormalities in his C1 and C2 vertebrae.

The speculation is that this newly-diagnosed and apparently healed injury could have been bothering the Penguin star for a year. He may have picked up the neck fracture at the same time he was concussed back in January of 2010.

Doctors aren't infallible but the fear has to be that by missing the neck fracture they have exacerbated and extended Crosby's recovery time. Treatment that might have sped up the time it took him to come back never took place.

It looks like there is a more complete understanding of Sidney Crosby's current medical condition. Hopefully this will help expedite a complete recovery from the symptoms he's been suffering.

At the very least it should help sort out what problems are the result of a concussion and what problems are related to walking around with a fractured neck.

It remains to be seen how this possible missed injury will affect Crosby's relationship with the Penguins organization in general and with their medical staff specifically.    

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com

Love him or hate him, the man knows how to play hockey.

He gets a bad reputation for diving and complaining at times, but his skill level is hard to ignore.

As with most extremely talented hockey players, fans began to build Sid the Kid up as the rock, the winning power of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At this point in the season, fans should realize that is not the case.

As almost every hockey fan, and some non-hockey fans, may know, Sidney Crosby missed a great deal of last season and the current NHL season with post-concussion symptoms rendering him unable to compete.

While the loss of Crosby seemed so difficult to handle, as if the Penguins wouldn't be successful until he returned, one man stepped up big time.

Evgeni Malkin.

Currently leading the NHL with 58 points, 26 of those being goals and 32 being assists, Malkin has proven his worth to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Malkin has been a talented player in the past, overshadowed a bit by Crosby and his cult-like following.

With Crosby out indefinitely, Malkin has had the chance to show the NHL that he is for real.

Furthermore, Penguins fans were finally shown something other NHL fans had been telling them for some time now, the Penguins can win without Sidney Crosby.

Sure, Crosby is a talented player, and even though I'm not a huge fan of his, I genuinely hope he has a speedy recovery and returns to his previous playing ability.

All I'm saying is that, as great as Crosby is, the Penguins can be successful without him.

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com

The hockey world is not the same.

It seems like ages ago when Sidney Crosby ingrained himself in the hearts and minds of Canadians forever with his climactic Golden Goal against the Americans in the final of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

With Crosby on the mend with a severe neck injury and reoccurring concussion symptoms, thus having played only one month of hockey in 2011, the absence of Canada’s golden boy in today's NHL is a marketing nightmare for the league.

Coincidentally, Crosby’s long-time rival Alex Ovechkin has seen his career take a massive dip after his lackluster performance in Vancouver 2010. Adhering to the defensive first system laid forth by then-coach Bruce Boudreau (who has since been fired), Ovechkin put up a very pedestrian 32-goal, 85-point campaign in 2010/2011. In a point-per-game view, it is an outstanding season for any player, but to his standards, this was seen as a weak season, as “Ovie” has averaged at least 50 goals and over 100 points in his 5 seasons prior to last year.

The pundits have criticized his lack of intensity and leadership ability since the Olympics. As the top-ranked Eastern Conference team in last springs playoffs, the Capitals were overwhelming favourites to win the East, but were embarrassingly swept in the second round by the surprising Tampa Bay Lightning.

When Crosby was healthy and productive and Ovechkin was lighting up goalies league-wide on a regular basis, the NHL had a PR dream on its hands. Marketing the two faces of the game, who both broke into the league in the same year and have been neck-and-neck in the scoring race almost every season, was a huge draw for young and old fans alike.

Granted, there are elite level players in the league currently that are arguably as talented as either Ovechkin or Crosby, but the NHL is without question missing its special ingredient with Crosby on the shelf and Ovechkin having an even worse statistical season than last year.

The media played the rivalry card brilliantly. Crosby was depicted as the humble leader of his team, bringing his team to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row and defeating the Red Wings in 2009. Ovechkin, toothless grin and all, spitting out wisecracks in broken English and playing with such intensity made him the most exciting player in the game to watch.

Debates over whether Crosby or Ovechkin was the best player in the game would be a persistent topic of conversation in hockey circles and in the media. This writer, along with the majority of Canadians who preferred Ovechkin, sided over to Crosby after his Golden Goal.

Ovechkin has also been criticized for not attending this weekend's NHL All-Star Game. Granted, he was suspended for three games prior to the event, and he felt he had no place being in the game. However, he still was allowed to play in the event, and he chose not to.

The executives of the NHL are surely banging their heads against the wall when the game's most marketable player (since Crosby has been out) is sitting out their most important event of the season. The All-Star Game is crucial for sponsorship and the NHL needs a player of Ovechkin's ilk at this weekend's game.

The emergence of Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux, the continuing dominance of Steven Stamkos, Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin, along with the ever-improving Jonathan Toews, leaves the NHL no shortage of elite-level talent to market their game to fans of all demographics. However, with Crosby out indefinitely once again, and Ovechkin’s reputation tumbling as each day goes on, the NHL has to be hoping for a PR miracle as soon as possible.

Read more Pittsburgh Penguins news on BleacherReport.com