Evgeni Malkin wants to play another season for the Penguins.
His performance this season merits that.
But do the Penguins want Malkin to play another season?
It’s not a simple decision.
He has 13 goals and 34 assists in 44 games. Not a lot of goals, but over a point per game.
His move from center to wing has been seamless. He’s no speed king on the forecheck. But at wing, it’s difficult to be a liability in the neutral zone, which Malkin had been at center.
Malkin is the biggest part of igniting fellow Russian Egor Chinakhov (10 goals in 21 games with the Penguins) since Chinakhov’s acquisition from Columbus, and has helped make their line with Tommy Novak greater than the sum of the parts. It’s the Penguins’ No. 1 line.
But Malkin is 39.
This is more likely a last gasp than a new beginning.
What if he goes splat next season?
On a one-year deal at, say, $5 million, that’s not a disaster. The Penguins project to have lots of salary cap space in the coming offseason, perhaps as much as $50 million.
With Malkin at wing, he doesn’t block 18-year-old wonderkid center Ben Kindel, except maybe on the power play.
But, their current occupation of a playoff spot duly notwithstanding, the Penguins are rebuilding. They’re not a championship contender as is. (Getting there.)
At some point, you have to turn the page. The locker room shouldn’t be a museum.
Malkin isn’t Sidney Crosby, as many have long pretended.
Crosby is still one of the NHL’s top five players and is slowing minimally. Malkin is a level below, almost 40, and not near as dynamic.
Crosby, of course, figures into this.
He’d doubtless like Malkin to keep playing as long as he does. The unbreakable bond of eternal brotherhood.
But what if Malkin wants a two-year deal?
President of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas might be loathe to re-up Malkin at all, let alone for two years.
But Crosby is only signed through next season. If he retires or leaves, the page turns itself.
Signing Malkin to term beyond Crosby’s would be insane.
So, it’s one year or nothing.
There’s no harm in one more season of Malkin.
But here’s betting that’s not what Dubas prefers, even if that’s what happens.
Tampa Bay faced a similar situation with Steven Stamkos in 2024.
Stamkos had just scored 40 goals. He’s a nailed-on Lightning legend, having helped them win two Stanley Cups and netting 555 career goals for the Bolts.
But Stamkos was 33. Tampa Bay let him go, instead signing Jake Guentzel, who was 29 when he joined the Lightning. Guentzel scored 41 goals in his first season with the team, 26 so far this campaign, and Tampa Bay sits atop the Atlantic Division.
If the Penguins let Malkin go, somebody will replace him. Tampa Bay moved on from Stamkos and didn’t miss a beat. Got younger, maybe better.
Malkin addressed the issue after the Penguins lost to the New York Rangers on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. It was initially reported that Dubas and Malkin’s representatives wouldn’t speak till after the season, which seemed to frustrate Malkin. Now it’s being said that they will talk early this week.
I’d keep Malkin for one more year.
But I don’t see the decision being crucial. Not beyond nostalgia.
Malkin is an unabashed franchise all-timer. But he can’t call his own shots indefinitely. He’s certainly been treated well to this point.
There’s no harm in waiting till season’s end to decide.
There’s no upside to Malkin and the Penguins indulging public discourse in the interim.
It won’t help Malkin’s cause if he gets the boo-boo face and his production slips.
Making the playoffs without Crosby playing for a month will be difficult enough without distractions.