LAS VEGAS -- At a reception before the 2009 NHL Awards show, Evgeni Malkin looked around the room at the other candidates and thought about the makeup of his Stanley Cup champion Penguins club and a lot of other teams.

"Every team has a couple good young guys," he said. "Now it's time for the young guys."

The Penguins could be built for lasting greatness with stars such as Malkin, 22, fellow centers Sidney Crosby, 21, and Jordan Staal, 20, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, 24, and defenseman Kris Letang, 21.

If the NHL is at the dawn of a new and dynamic era -- and several top players past and present assembled for the awards gala think it is -- the Penguins are in good and tough company.

"It's like the torch has been passed," said San Jose Sharks center Jeremy Roenick, a 21-year NHL veteran. "It's now moved on to the 22-, 23-, 24-year-olds that are the stars, whereas before it was the Mark Messiers, the Wayne Getzkys, the Brett Hulls, the Mike Modanos.

The past three years, respectively, the Hart Trophy as league MVP has gone to Crosby and Washington's Alex Ovechkin, 23, twice. The Art Ross Trophy awarded to the regular-season scoring champion has gone to Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin.

"You can see how young players come to the league and feel pretty good. I feel pretty good," said Ovechkin, who pointed out that even the young talent in the league is gaining experience.

"It's going to be my fifth year next year. I'm not a rookie. I think I'm an experienced guy. I think I know how to play here."

Ovechkin said he can see the Capitals and Penguins becoming perennial Eastern Conference contenders for the Stanley Cup.

In the Western Conference, Detroit is the exception to the youth rule. The Red Wings, who won the Stanley Cup last year for the fourth time in 11 years and took the Penguins to seven games in this year's final, feature a core of star players well over 25.

"I think Detroit's probably come as close as you can to sustaining any kind of hierarchy among the elite," Messier said.

Messier, a Hall of Fame center, played 25 seasons and won six Stanley Cups, five of them between 1984 and 1990 as part of the Edmonton dynasty.

Despite a strong influx of young players in the NHL, he doubts there will be the types of runs the Oilers had.

Roenick was enthralled by this year's final.

"I think the National Hockey League took a step forward with the future of its stars, of its popularity," he said. "To have Malkin and Sidney Crosby lead that team to a championship as young as they are, the National Hockey League has such an upside to market and to get these kids out to sell the game."

For the Penguins to accumulate a number of Stanley Cups with this version of their club, they might have to go through Ovechkin and the Capitals each season. Washington took the Penguins to seven games in the second round this year.

Beyond that, there is Detroit and a Western Conference team with top young talent, Chicago.

The Blackhawks, who are centered around winger Patrick Kane, 20, and center Jonathan Toews, 21, advanced to their conference final this year before falling to Detroit in five games.

"I think that would be real cool, especially next year since they are the champs right now," Kane said of a potential final between Chicago and the Penguins. "Obviously, there are comparisons. The comparisons are not fully complete.with Malkin-Crosby, Kane and Toews because Jonathan and I aren't stars like that, but it's pretty cool just to hear those things and be mentioned in the same vein as those guys, especially the way they played in the playoffs."

More of the same is something Roenick isn't ruling out for years to come

"Dynasties are going to be hard to come by," he said, "but I think anybody that has a Sidney Crosby or an Ovechkin on their team has the ability to do that."