The Malkin situation's pretty different than the Backstrom one. Backstrom's contract started when he was 32, pre-hip issues, when he hadn't missed double digit games in any of the previous 7 seasons. Malkin will be 36 when his next contract starts, and he's constantly missing big chunks of time due to injuries. He's also never had the type of relationship with Crosby that Backstrom has with Ovie, he wasn't a major part of bringing the team its first Stanley Cup, and his significance to the franchise is dwarfed by Crosby, Lemieux, and Jagr, whereas Backstrom's second only to Ovie. It's much, much easier for them to walk away from Malkin right now than it would've been for the Caps to walk away from Backstrom in 2020.