Evgeni Malkin said he wanted to stay.

Kyle Dubas said he’d love to have Malkin back.

On Tuesday, all parties concerned ensured one of the most consequential players in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins would remain a member of the franchise for one more season.

Malkin signed a one-year contract extension, the team announced. The deal is worth $5.5 million. His previous contract, signed in 2022, had an average annual value of $6.1 million.

Malkin, who turns 40 on July 31, appeared in 56 games last season and scored 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists) and averaged 17:36 of ice time per contest.

While he was productive, Malkin dealt with nagging health woes throughout the campaign. Most notably, a left shoulder injury he suffered in December never fully healed and was partially the reason he moved from his listed position of center to the right wing.

Throughout the later stages of the season, Malkin, who is in the final weeks of a four-year contract with a salary cap hit of $6.1 million, had publicly campaigned to re-sign with the club.

“I want to be here,” Malkin said as recently as April 24. “I want to be part of the team next year, too. I want to be retired in Pittsburgh. But it’s not my choice. It’s Kyle’s decision. It’s (the) new owners (HOffmann Family of Companies) probably too.”

Dubas, the Penguins’ president of hockey operations, was buoyant over the topic when asked about it on April 12.

“We’ve had (discussions),” Dubas said. “Obviously, we had a great exit interview with Evgeni directly. Then, subsequently, we’ve had continued discussions with he and his representative, J.P. Barry. The season that he’s had, where we’re at, where we’re going, I don’t look at our younger players and think that they’ve done enough to have a view that he’s blocking anybody out in that regard.

“We would love to have him back. We just continue to work with J.P. on it. That’s as clear as I can be.”

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)