It turns out that Evgeni Malkin is not heading to the market after all. After going back and forth for months, the Pittsburgh Penguins and their Russian superstar have reached an agreement just 12 hours before he hits the open market. Malkin signed a four-year extension that will pay him $24.4 million ($6.1 million AAV).
General manager Ron Hextall released the following statement:
Evgeni is a once-in-a-generation talent who will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NHL history. His hockey resume and individual accomplishments speak volumes for him as a player, and we are excited to watch him continue his remarkable legacy in Pittsburgh.
Malkin, 35, will now be under contract through the 2025-26 season, one year longer than teammate Sidney Crosby (but two years shorter than the recently extended Kris Letang, who now carries the same amount of success). Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the full contract details:
- 2022-23: $4.0M salary + $4.0M signing bonus
- 2023-24: $6.0 million salary
- 2024-25: $5.6 million salary
- 2025-26: $1.0M salary + $3.8M signing bonus
The deal also includes a full no-movement clause, though trade speculation will likely never stop as it has followed Malkin for most of his career.
What a career that was. The 2004 second overall pick entered the NHL in 2006 as an instant superstar, winning the Calder Trophy with a landslide victory over Paul Stastny (Malkin received 120 of 143 first-place votes) and scoring 85 points in 78 games. By his second year, he was already runner-up for the Hart Trophy, and by his third year, he took the Art Ross as the league’s most productive player. He also happened to pick up the Conn Smythe the same year Malkin and the Crosby-led Penguins lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time. They would do it twice more with this dynamic duo in place and now they are looking to try again while they are still effective.
Malkin’s effectiveness has never been in question, only his consistency and health. The big center has played 70 games in a season just once in the past decade, usually missing significant stretches due to injury. He only played in 41 games that season, but still managed to score at a better than point-per-game pace, registering 20 goals and 42 points.
Negotiations, clearly strained for both sides, resulted in a deal that looks more than reasonable. The Penguins get Malkin back in cap space, well below the $9.5 million he carried since 2014, while the veteran forward gets the security of a four-year deal to play out his career in Pittsburgh.
Now the question will be whether Malkin, Crosby and Letang are still good enough to lead this team to the promised land — or if all this contract confirms is that each of them will be Penguins for life.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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