Despite all the rumors suggesting he was leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins, Evgeni Malkin will ultimately continue his career with the only team he played for in the National Hockey League (NHL).
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He signed the bottom of a four-year contract with the Pennsylvania team on Tuesday night.
The Russian will pocket an average of $6.1 million per campaign.
“Evgeni is a generational talent and people will remember him as one of the greatest players in NHL history,” general manager Ron Hextall said in a statement. His accomplishments illustrate the breadth of his talent and we are excited to see him continue to build his legend in Pittsburgh.”
This means that the trio formed by Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Kristopher Letang, who have shared the ice since the 2006-2007 season, will remain united.
If Letang’s file was settled during the day of the first round of the repechage, that of Malkin has caused a lot of ink to flow in the last few days, suggesting a possible separation between the two parties.
Even though he’ll be 36 at the start of next season, Malkin can still provide great service for the Penguins, having blacked the scoresheet 42 times in 41 games in 2021-22. The three-time Stanley Cup winner has 1,146 points in 981 career games.
Recall that “Geno” was drafted by the Penguins second overall in the 2004 auction, one selection after his compatriot Alexander Ovechkin.
A special program on the opening of the free agent market will be presented Wednesday at 11 a.m. on TVA Sports, TVA Sports direct and at TVASports.ca.