Then the limousine cortege toured the streets of Magnitogorsk. A large crowd was standing on the sidewalks, filming and taking pictures of the trophy, which was put on top of one of the vehicles.

After visiting the World War II memorial, the Stanley Cup was stationed at the town’s main square, opposite the local economic mainstay – the metallurgical plant.

Evgeny Malkin was born in Magnitogorsk in 1986. He learned to play hockey in his home town and made his name playing for local team Metallurg in the Russian Super League in 2004–06, before signing with the Penguins.

He now expects nothing but another Stanley Cup in the NHL 2009/10 season.

“Of course I have outlived the euphoria [of a Stanley Cup victory] by now. But, anyway, I think this feeling will stay with me for a long time. We have kept all our players, which is most important. The coaches are also staying and that’s a big plus. Everyone knows each other and the chances are high this year. It's hard not to think about big wins with a team like this, when you have a goalkeeper on the team like Fleury, and a captain like Crosby. So we expect victories. We’ll do our best to be in the [Stanley Cup] finals again,” Evgeny Malkin said to Championat.ru.