With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Evgeni Malkin

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Age: 34

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 195 pounds

2020-21 NHL statistics: 33 games, 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists)

Contract: Seventh year of an eight-year contract with a salary cap hit of $9.5 million. Unrestricted free agent in 2022.

(Note: Malkin’s contract includes a no-movement clause.)

Acquired: First-round draft pick (No. 2 overall), July 26, 2004

2020-21 season: Back in September of 2018, during the Penguins’ training camp, Evgeni Malkin acknowledged he was getting a bit long in the tooth.

Despite that, he felt he was still capable of being a dominant force in the NHL.

“I want to be a good player for the next five years, the next six years,” Malkin said. “I try to do my best and try to dominate every game. … I want to be what a leader should be, a top center for the next five, six years for sure.”

Of course, he was still a puerile 32 years old back then.

Today, he’s a hoary 34.

And, he’s trying to recovery from major surgery on his right knee.

The 2020-21 campaign might have been the worst of Malkin’s spectacular career. He was largely an inert entity on the ice for the first six weeks of the season as he produced only 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his 20 games.

When the calendar flipped to March, Malkin seemed to gain some traction, thanks in part to being teamed on the Penguins’ second line with winger Kasperi Kapanen. During what was easily his best stretch of the season, Malkin cobbled together a tidy eight-game scoring streak in which he put up 12 points (four goals, eight assists).

That momentum was snuffed out on March 16 when his right knee was injured on a hit by Boston Bruins defenseman Jarred Tinordi.

Malkin did not return to the lineup until May 3 and managed to record four assists in his final four games of the season. But in the regular season finale on May 8, Malkin’s right knee appeared to be hobbled again after a hit by Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens.

Eight days later, the Penguins’ postseason started but without Malkin, who missed the first two games of his team’s first-round series with the New York Islanders. Despite playing at less than 100%, Malkin was able to record five points (one goal, four assists) in only four games.

In early June, the Penguins announced Malkin underwent surgery on his right knee.

The future: In the immediate sense, Malkin is not expected to be available to participate in the team’s training camp in mid-September. The team did not issue a definitive time frame for his recovery, but there appears to be a legit possibility of him missing some portion of the 2021-22 season once it opens in mid-October.

Long-term, Malkin’s status with the Penguins appears to be secure. In early June, general manager Ron Hextall suggested “the core” — Malkin, forward Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang — still has a future with the franchise.

With Malkin entering the final year of his current contract, the Penguins can sign him to a contract extension this offseason.

(Note: Malkin’s no-movement clause means the Penguins must protect him in this month’s expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken franchise.)

So, everything seems to point to Malkin remaining a member of the Penguins for the foreseeable future. But what kind of player will he be as enters the final stages of his remarkable NHL career?

Malkin has bounced back from knee issues before. After his 2010-11 season was cut short due to tears to his right ACL and MCL, Malkin rebounded in 2011-12 by winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP as well as the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer.

But he was 25 then. He’ll be 35 on July 31.

Given his track record, it’s probably safe to expect Malkin to recover from this latest challenge and still be a danger with the puck. After all, he was one of the Penguins’ more productive players in the playoffs despite skating with only one healthy leg.

But even the non-pareil Malkin can’t outskate age.

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