Report exposes that Evgeni Malkin wants to forgo contract with Penguins!

As we impatiently await the announcement, which is rumoured to come later today, on captain Sidney Crosby’s contract extension with the Penguins, reports have surfaced with troubling news about another star forward in Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin.

On his 38th birthday last week, Malkin made a tough admission to a Russian journalist back home, claiming that he plans on finishing his professional hockey career in Russia when he admitted that he will not retire with the Penguins.
Now, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X - iHeart claims that Malkin could do way worse.

“I’ve been told (Malkin) won’t be back after this year — that he’ll go to Russia and forgo the last year of his deal,” Madden said. “How does that impact Sid? Does Sid know? I bet he does. And I heard there were discussions about trying to get Letang to Montreal at Letang’s request, but nothing came of that. So I don’t know where this is headed.”

Malkin still has two years remaining on his contract with the Penguins, and the hope is that the Penguins can get one last push to the Stanley Cup before the Core 3 dismantles or retires. Back in the offseason of 2022, before inking a new contract with the Penguins, Malkin had admitted that he was aware of his decline and knew that if he was approached by management to be traded for a rebuild, he would have to accept his fate. However, it sounds like he could simply leave, though I bet his close friend Crosby would have something to say about it. Malkin was convinced by Crosby to sign a discount deal two summers ago, and now his statement about retiring overseas could push the captain to get settled on a new deal with the Penguins for that last shot at a Stanley Cup with his close friend.

Despite saying that he’s getting older, Malkin suited up in all 82 games for for the second straight season, tallying 27 goals and get 67 total points for the team in 2023-24.