The person who stole three Stanley Cup championship rings from Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin’s Sewickley Heights home doesn’t appear to be linked to any national operation targeting sports superstars, Allegheny County Police said Wednesday.
Police have made no arrests in the case.
Malkin discovered his home had been burglarized Jan. 11 when he returned to his home in the 800 block of Blackburn Road. Earlier that night, the Penguins lost 5-0 to the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena, their home arena in Downtown Pittsburgh.
At 8:30 p.m., Sewickley Heights Police, a tiny municipal force whose three full-time officers patrol a historic borough of about 350 households, called in the county police.
Malkin’s three Stanley Cup championship rings were taken in the residential burglary, Allegheny County Police confirmed Wednesday.
Malkin helped lead the team during three Stanley-Cup-winning seasons — in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
“At this time, detectives have not received any information to indicate this incident is tied to any of the reported organizations targeting professional athletes across the country,” county police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said in a prepared statement. “However, this remains an active investigation.”
The FBI is not involved in the investigation.
Borough officials largely kept mum Wednesday about the headline-generating incident.
Sewickley Heights Borough Manager Nathan Briggs deferred all questions about the burglary to law enforcement. He said the borough’s police force — which consists of three full-time officers and a chief — does operate 24/7.
“Like any police force, you can’t be everywhere all the time,” Briggs said.
Sewickley Heights police Chief J.J. Harrison forwarded all inquiries to county police.
Harrison declined to comment when asked about the frequency of burglaries in the borough. Sewickley Heights’ 857 residents boasted a median household income in 2023 of $203,000, nearly triple the national median, U.S. census data shows.
On Wednesday afternoon, nobody was at the police office inside Sewickley Heights’ municipal building, which is tucked inside a golf course that traces its roots to Pittsburgh’s North Side in 1895.
Few details of the crime have been publicly released. Late Tuesday, the Penguins issued a statement regarding the ordeal.
“Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin’s home was burglarized this past weekend. Details of the situation will not be made public as this is an ongoing investigation. We are working closely with local authorities and team security. Malkin has requested that his privacy be respected during this time, and we will have no further comment on the matter.”
No reporters or TV news crews Wednesday gathered outside the stone-walled gate that protects the private road where Malkin lives. Borough police were not guarding the site, which is among Sewickley Heights’ rolling hills and expansive estates.
The incident came as the FBI warned sports leagues about crime organizations targeting professional athletes, following a string of burglaries at the homes of prominent NFL and NBA players.
The athletes’ homes are targeted because of the perception they might contain high-end goods such as jewelry, watches and cash, the FBI said in a Liaison Information Report obtained by ABC News.
Star NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Joe Burrow of Cincinnati have been victims, as well as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is known outside sports-fan circles as musician Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.
NBA players also have been victimized, from Luka Doncic of Dallas and Bobby Portis of Milwaukee to Mike Conley Jr. of Minnesota.
Organized theft groups from South America use publicly available information and social media to identify athletes’ habits and track their comings and goings, the FBI report said. The groups use technology allowing them to bypass alarm systems, block wireless internet connections and disable devices, cover security cameras and hide their identities.
That message resonated Wednesday with Briggs, who did use the media moment to counsel the residents for whom he works.
“I tell them, ‘Stay vigilant, lock your windows and doors,’” Briggs told TribLive. “’And don’t post on social media that you’re leaving the house.’”