Penguins re-sign forward Evgeni Malkin to 4-year contract
As it turns out, the Penguins won’t be able to replace Evgeni Malkin.
Especially since he isn’t going anywhere.
Late Tuesday night, the Penguins announced they re-signed the superstar center to a four-year contract worth $6.1 million a season.
The contract runs through the 2025-26 season. According to Cap Friendly, the deal contains a full no-movement clause.
Malkin, who turns 36 on July 31, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. It was previously reported — and confirmed by Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke — that Malkin was planning on going to market when the NHL’s free agent signing period opened on Wednesday at noon.
Last season, Malkin appeared in 41 games and 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists) while averaging 18:20 of ice time per contest. A right knee injury that required surgery in the 2021 offseason did not allow Malkin to take the ice until January.
Related:
• With a new contract in his pocket, many milestones are within reach for Evgeni Malkin
• Tim Benz: Evgeni Malkin's decision to stay in Pittsburgh softens focus on Rickard Rakell's contract
According to CapFriendly, the Penguins now have $4,208,158 of salary cap space with 11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies under contract.
“Evgeni is a generational talent who will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NHL history,” general manager Ron Hextall said in a statement issued by the team. “His hockey resume and individual accomplishments speak volumes about him as a player, and we are thrilled to watch him continue his remarkable legacy in Pittsburgh.”
The second overall selection of the 2004 draft, Malkin has spent his entire 16-year NHL career in Pittsburgh and has been one of the principals responsible for elevating the Penguins into becoming one of the NHL’s premier franchises for the past decade and a half.
One of the greatest Russian players in NHL history, Malkin has appeared in 981 career games and is the Penguins’ third-leading scorer with 1,146 points (444 goals, 702 assists). A member of the franchise’s three most recent Stanley Cup titles in 2009, 2016 and 2017, Malkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009 as playoff MVP.
Additionally, he has claimed the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top scorer twice (in 2009 and 2012), the Hart Trophy as league MVP (in 2012) and the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year (in 2007).
Since the Penguins were eliminated from the postseason in early May, Hextall has struck several deals to largely retain much of the same roster he finished the season with. In addition to Malkin, Hextall has agreed to contracts with:
May 21 - Forward Bryan Rust, six years, $5.125 million salary cap hit
July 5 - Goaltender Casey DeSmith, two years, $1.8 million salary cap hit
July 7 - Defenseman Kris Letang, six years, $6.1 million salary cap hit
July 11 - Forward Rickard Rakell, six years, $5 million salary cap hit
In the cases of Rust, Letang and Rakell, their average annual values are believed to be less than what they could have potentially commanded on the open market.
“Everybody knows the (salary) cap situation now,” Hextall said on Friday during the NHL Draft at Montreal’s Bell Centre. “The players probably know as well as anybody. They have worked with us. They want to stay with the Penguins and keep this group together. If you look at our last two playoff runs, we certainly could have gone a lot further and arguably should have. Everybody on our team thinks that we have a good team, and I believe they want to keep the core together.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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