Malkin reveals he tested positive for COVID-19 to explain why he refused to interact with fans

On Wednesday, Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin was forced to admit he tested positive for COVID-19 when he was caught in a controversial situation this offseason. 

The veteran forward explained that while he didn’t experience any symptoms when he tested positive for the virus, he respected the guidelines, which prevented him from taking pictures and interacting with fans. Some even thought he was being rude, but Geno explained to Russian media on Wednesday he had to act this way in order to protect others. 

“Yes, I had coronavirus with no symptoms at all. Now everyday more than 20,000 people got infected,” the player said to TASS. 

“My son has been attending training sessions and other kids want to take pictures with me. Of course I want to make them happy, but on the other hand I should also think about responsibility. Sometimes people don’t understand that, some of them even take offence at me.

“I want to take this occasion to apologize for my refusal. Please, kids, don’t nurse a grudge against me. Unfortunately, we have such an unpleasant situation right now.”

Geno would have preferred to keep the information about his diagnosis private, but wanted to explain why he might have looked distant from fans during that time. 

Malkin took part in the Return to Play plan by the NHL back in August, but his Penguins were eliminated in the qualifying round by the Montreal Canadiens. 

His offseason has been longer than usual, but surely gave him the time to recover from COVID. 

Malkin has spent the whole of his NHL career with the Penguins, helping them to three Stanley Cup championships in 2009, 2016 and 2017. We bet he is looking forward to getting back to action and prove everyone COVID has not dampened his productive talents!