Ryan Malone interview w/ Pittsburgh Tribune‑Review 

Starkey: Ryan Malone, retired, watches from afar

Nearly a thousand miles from the din of Consol Energy Center, as his two favorite teams traded goals in the first period Monday night, 36-year-old Ryan Malone put his little boys to bed.

“I'm just happy being a dad,” he said from Wayzata, Minn., as the game spilled into the third period.

It has been a year since the original 21st Century Pittsburgh Kid, the one before Neil Walker, quietly filed his retirement papers.

Malone's 11-year NHL career began like a dream and ended with a nightmare, and he really hadn't reflected on all of it — at least not publicly — until Monday.

Let's start with the dream, because it truly, truly was a dream come true when Malone suited up for his hometown Penguins.

“A thousand times, over and over,” Malone said.

Think about it. The kid used to play street hockey games at the end of Bingham Drive in Upper St. Clair wearing one of two jerseys: No. 10 for Ron Francis or No. 12 for his father, Greg, who played for the Penguins when Ryan was born in 1979 and was their head scout when Ryan breathlessly watched them win Stanley Cups in '91 and '92.

The equipment manager (Steve Latin) who sharpened little Ryan's skates for family outings at Civic Arena sharpened them for his NHL debut, too, on Oct. 10, 2003 — the same night Marc-Andre Fleury debuted with 46 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Penguins were horrible in their final pre-Sidney Crosby season, but so what? Malone, the first player born and trained in Pittsburgh to reach the NHL, was having the time of his life. The highlight was skating on a line with Mario Lemieux.

After our chat Monday, Malone found himself reflecting well into the night and sent a flurry of texts, including this one on Lemieux: “What a great man. First-class, true pro that turned into a great friend who took a lot of money off me in hearts on the back of the plane lol. That first year in the league was one of the best years of my life. You are so young, and looking back ... wow.”

The last and best of those texts, incidentally, arrived at 1:17 a.m., long after Crosby had beaten the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime. Malone made sure to mention two other long-ago teammates.

“Forgot about Rex (Mark Recchi) and Gary Roberts. Learned a lot from Roberts. He said I always played better with blood on my face. He's an animal.”

In some ways reminiscent of a young Gary Roberts, Malone morphed into a highly effective power forward. Big body. Soft hands. Always willing to sacrifice body parts. He became an alternate captain, too. They called him “Bugsy,” his dad's old nickname.

Malone scored 87 goals in four seasons here, including 27 in 2007-08. That was the year the fledgling Penguins grew up. They reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Detroit in six games.

The last time Malone wore a Penguins jersey, he sat slumped at his locker, unable to speak for a full hour after the Game 6 loss.

The hope was to sign here for many years, but the sides failed to reach an agreement. So in the summer of 2008, the Penguins traded to Tampa Bay the negotiating rights to Malone and Roberts.

The Lightning made Malone wealthy beyond imagination in the form of a seven-year, $31.5 million contract.

Things started well. Malone scored 47 goals his first two years, then helped the Lightning eliminate the Penguins from the 2011 playoffs. But as the years added up, the body broke down. He missed most of 2013-14 — and with one game left in the regular season, the nightmare happened.

Malone was arrested in Tampa for driving under the influence and possession of 1.3 grams of cocaine. He pleaded no contest and entered a pretrial diversion program on the possession charge. He was sentenced to 12 months probation and 50 hours of community service.

Malone said he never had a drug issue. He did not want to go into detail about that night, but he said this of driving under the influence: “I embarrassed my family and myself and let down my teammates.”

Tampa Bay bought out Malone's contract after the 2014 playoffs. The New York Rangers gave him a shot last season, but he no longer could keep up. He lasted just six games in New York (no points) before he was demoted to Hartford of the AHL — and wasn't that a trip.

When he walked into the ancient XL Center in downtown Hartford, Malone saw a photo of his father, who played for the now-defunct Whalers in the 1980s. Memories came flooding back.

He remembered as a 5-year-old playing games in the locker room with his brother, Mark, and Whalers forward Kevin Dineen. And of course, he remembered the Whalers legendary goal song, “Brass Bonanza,” which still is played when Hartford scores.

So in a way, it was a fitting final stop. But also a sad one. Malone called it quits in February of last year. He retired with 179 goals, just 12 short of his father's total.

Malone knows that for many the final image of his career was a mug shot, the final headline a description of his arrest. That is part of why he has stayed out of the public eye.

I wondered: What would he say to fans in Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and elsewhere who wonder whether Ryan Malone is OK?

“I would say, yes, Ryan Malone is OK. Life is good. I have my two boys,” he said. “Live, learn and move on. I'm lucky enough that I got paid a little bit of money. I'm thankful for everyone who helped me along the road. Now's my time to start to giving back. I'm looking forward to the next chapter, to help some other kids to enjoy this game and help them be respectful people.”

Ask Malone what he treasures most about his career, and it's not skating with Mario or Sid or Martin St. Louis or Steven Stamkos — although all of that was incredible. It's not representing his country at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Although that was surreal.

It's not converting a Crosby feed for the 100th point of Sid's rookie season or scoring twice to help eliminate the hated Flyers in '08 and send the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup Final in 16 years.

It's the guys. The friendships. The day-to-day interactions that make a hockey life. That goes the other way, too. Ask any of Malone's ex-teammates about him. They glow in remembrance of the curly haired, red-bearded, tattoo-covered battler.

Stamkos is a good example. After endlessly recounting his medical situation Monday morning, he gladly accepted an invitation to talk about Malone, whom a Lightning media relations person informed me was one of Stamkos' closest friends.

“Still is,” Stamkos said. “He stayed with me for a few days in Toronto last summer. My rookie year was his first year in Tampa. We lived in the same community. I'd go over there for dinner, play mini sticks with his kids. He helped me along the way as an 18-, 19-year-old kid coming in. He was a teammate who'd do anything for you, had your back in any situation.

“Obviously, a tough decision he made toward the end (the arrest), but that wasn't the Bugsy we all loved and knew. He was a guy who liked to have fun and was kind of the locker-room prankster, but he was a warrior on the ice. I remember playing with him and Martin St. Louis as a line, and I truly felt we were the best line in the league that year.

“Just loved the game of hockey, loved being around the guys.”

What does that mean to Malone, to reflect on such relationships?

These days, Malone's line includes himself and sons Will, 8, and Cooper, 6. He has been divorced for five years and has shared custody of his children.

This was the first winter Malone built a backyard ice rink. He helps coach his son's hockey teams. Baseball is coming up.

“I'm a lot more busy than I thought I'd be,” he said. “I was talking to Martin St. Louis, and he's coaching all three of his kids' teams. He's running around, too. It's pretty special to pass on the love you have for this game to your boys and other kids.”

Of course, I had to ask: Who is Malone rooting for, anyway, the Penguins or the Lightning?

He lauded Lemieux and Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik. He mentioned how much he respects Lightning GM Steve Yzerman. He spoke of all the “great people and great friends for a lifetime” in both cities.

He never did say he's rooting for the Penguins. But he did say this, before he turned his attention back to the game as his boys slept upstairs:

“At heart, I'm always going to be a Pittsburgh kid.”

Joe Starkey co-hosts a show 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on 93.7 FM. Reach him at jraystarkey@gmail.com.

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