One of the hot topics swirling around social media right now is the debate over the superiority between future Hall of Famers Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin.
Kane and Malkin are still active, but neither is in the prime of their careers, which is where they became legends of the game.
Most of Kane’s stardom came as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, but he did have a couple of months with the New York Rangers before the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.
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Malkin has spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he was one of the most important pieces to a modern-day dynasty, which is also something that Kane can say about his career.
Each of these two stars won the Stanley Cup three times and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP once each.
Both Kane and Malkin had legendary supporting casts, including stars like Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Kristopher Letang, among many others.
As forwards, they drove their own lines. At even strength, Kane never played with Toews, and Malkin never played with Crosby. Plenty of damage was done as duos on the power play, but even-strength play-driving was all theirs.
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Malkin is a center, and Kane is a wing, but playing on the wing never stopped Kane from driving play like a centerman who simply doesn’t take face-offs. Nobody ever confused him with being the complementary piece on a line.
Looking at individual awards, Malkin has Kane beat. They each won the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) and the aforementioned Conn Smythe, along with three Cups, but Malkin has two Hart Trophies as league MVP to Kane’s one. Malkin has also led the league in scoring (Art Ross Trophy) twice, whereas Kane has only once.
As far as production during the regular season, they have both been prolific. Kane has 508 goals and 892 assists for 1400 points in 1369 games played. That’s an average of 1.02 points per game. Malkin has 1407 points in 1269 games played, good for 1.11 points per game on average.
When it comes to aging, both of them have been up and down with their production in recent years. Malkin did manage to have a point per game season in 2025-26 as he scored 19 goals with 42 assists for 61 points in 56 games played. He would have pushed for 90 points if he kept that pace over the full 82.
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As for Kane, who also dealt with some missed time in 2025-26, he had 16 goals and 41 assists for 57 points in 67 games played. Kane was on a much worse team, but the production was certainly lower than that of Malkin.
Heading into 2026-27, both of them are expecting to have a similar level of production, coming within a couple of points of being a point-per-game player. Malkin will play center on a decent Pittsburgh team, while Kane is still deciding on his next hockey home, which could also impact his totals.
The Verdict:
There is no denying Patrick Kane’s flashiness. His hands are as mesmerizing as any player in NHL history, especially in his prime. He had a swagger in his game unmatched by pretty much every other player in the league. Every kid playing hockey from 2010 to 2020 wanted to be like “Showtime”.
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If the question is based on legacy, Kane is the winner. He changed the way forwards who are undersized are viewed by scouts, and themselves. Young kids know they can make it if they are supremely skilled, like Kane was, regardless of their height or weight.
Patrick Kane also has the pedigree of being the greatest American-born player of all time. Part of that is the weaker history that USA Hockey has compared to Russian (Soviet Union) hockey, but part of it is Kane being an excellent product of the United States.
All of those kids who wanted to be like Kane respect and look up to him in a way that very few NHL players are ever viewed. The impact on the overall sport of hockey was greater for Kane.
Despite this, Evgeni Malkin has been the better overall player, despite the lesser legacy. Although Malkin never won any Selke Trophies, he was certainly better defensively than Kane. He also slightly outproduced him over the course of his career and edged him in awards, even if it was barely.
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Still, neither the Chicago Blackhawks nor the Pittsburgh Penguins would make a trade one-for-one because they each got what they needed out of their superstars. Both Kane and Malkin will be Hall of Famers with their numbers retired by their respective organizations.
These silly summer arguments are fun to get into, but there is no denying that each of these players is among the best in NHL history, and only a few players during their era were even in the same stratosphere.
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