It appears that trouble may havebeenbrewing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and it reportedly got intense. reported that multiple team sources said that Evgeni Malkin requested a trade if they kept Phil Ke sel on for the 2019-20 season. The Ru sian center reportedly felt that he was caught in the middle of . "By the end of last season, everybody from ownership to management to coaches believed Ke sel had to go for Malkin to stay," . Malkin wins it in overtime. From Ke sel Bucci Mane (@Buccigro s) On June 30, Ke sel, alongwith prospect blueliner Dane Bicks and a 2021 fourth-rounder, was shipped to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange forforwardAlex Galchenyuk and defensive prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph. The two had been teammates since Ke Pavel Zacha Jersey sel was brought on board in the 2015 offseason Overtheir last four seasons together, they won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 and ultimately became linemates. In 2018-19, Ke sel and Malkin combined for 154 points last season, with each notching 82 and 72 points, respectively. MORE: Phil Ke sel excited to begin next chapter with Coyotes However, despite their chemistry, Ro si said sources told him that Malkin thought that Ke sel was more focused on his individual statistics rather than going for another title. "Malkin was worried he'd be seen the same way if Ke sel remained his winger," . Although Malkin denied the claims, Ro si did write that the 33-year-old didn't want to play with Ke sel on his wing regardle s. Malkin saw a significant drop in performance this past season after previously having put up 98 points in 2017-18. Back in March, Ke sel had nothing but good things to say about his former linemate, calling him a "world-cla s player" and saying he does "everything good," . Ke sel on Malkin: "He's a world-cla s player. Obviously he's a big guy. He has good skills. He sees the game well, shoots the puck well. I gue s when you do everything good, it's easy." Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) Patrice Bergeron Jersey