Coming into this season, Evgeni Malkin was experiencing perhaps his final year with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Drafted second overall in 2004 and arriving to the United States in a way only a thriller movie script could properly tell, Pittsburgh is the only home he’s ever known in the NHL. It’s the city where he won three Stanley Cups, two Art Ross trophies, a Calder trophy, a Conn Smythe trophy, and many other accolades.
But back in October, it felt like we were gearing up for the end of Malkin’s time here. This season is the final year of a four-year extension he signed with the Penguins back in 2022, which pays him $6.1 million against the salary cap.
Interestingly enough, his current contract was also born out of a fear of his time with the team coming to an end. In 2022, after the team’s fourth straight disappointing first round exit, Malkin’s contract was expiring, and then-general manager Ron Hextall was seriously pondering some serious changes to the roster.
However, amid an outcry from the majority of the fan base and a push from Sidney Crosby to not let Malkin hit the open market, the two sides eventually came together on an eleventh hour extension on the night before free agency began.
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Fifth Avenue Sports 