Evgeni Malkin makes his case for a contract extension from the Penguins

Evgeni Malkin has been crystal clear in his comments to the media about two two subjects this season that he’s openly talked about, at times unprompted.

He doesn’t want this 2025-26 season to be his last in the NHL
He doesn’t want to leave the Pittsburgh Penguins for a different team

There’s been nothing in the way of smokescreens or subtext with the messaging. What you see is what you get. Malkin has mostly gotten his way professionally in the last 20 years but the team hasn’t been as quick to get on that page.

Kyle Dubas and company have slow-played the situation. Dealing with a 20-year franchise legend can be a delicate process, as seen in Malkin’s last contract negotiation in 2022 where it took until the 11th hour to get an agreement for a four-year contract that the team almost reluctantly handed to him.

Pittsburgh’s stance this time around was understandable. Malkin will turn 40 this year, he was coming off his worst full season in 2024-25, producing only 50 points in 68 games. He’s had a couple of knee surgeries. That’s not a case where a team is going to rush into a signing, especially one like the Pens who have a stated goal to get younger. There wasn’t any movement on the contract this summer. Dubas addressed the matter at the start of training camp:

“He’s in a great mood every day,” Dubas said. “No change on [the contract] front. I spoke with him and [agent J.P. Barry] in the summer when stuff started percolating there. At the time in every one of their careers, I’ll sit when time permits….The [Olympic] break provides a key opportunity for that…I expect him to have a great season.”

With that stance, it shouldn’t be overlooked that Dubas essentially added to the list of his recent accomplishments in a subtle way by stoking the competitive fires in Malkin. That shows a crafty impact as a manager to go beyond a major trade or free agent move to enhance performance. Sometimes pulling a lever like “go have a great season and we’ll touch base with your agent at the Olympics after we see how things are looking” can help a team as much as anything. Dubas didn’t rush to re-sign Malkin, yet he also didn’t close the door completely either. He just made Malkin do the work to walk through it.

It was a challenge Malkin took to heart, accepted and has made his mission to complete. Despite missing time with a shoulder injury, he has been sensational this season when he’s been in the lineup to the tune of 39 points in 35 games, often performing as one of the best players on the ice on any given night.

Those performances included last night’s 6-2 win over Edmonton where Malkin produced a goal and an assist. He playfully shrugged off retirement notions again:

“I never say I want to retire. It’s all you. I feel great, and I like how we play. It’s always fun to win.”

It’s not difficult to see the goal constantly in mind to not have this year be his final one has inspired Malkin. He’s played his normal center position, then willingly shifted to the wing while jokingly volunteering to line up at defense or even goalie if that was what it took for the team to be successful.

Turns out his forward position has more than sufficed. Any doubts on whether or not he’s still got it were emphatically wiped away last night in the sequence where Malkin poked the puck away from no less than Connor McDavid, took off down the ice (despite being at the end of a shift lasting 1:20) and scoring on the breakaway.

Malkin would continue in the post-game:

“But I hope you see…it’s not easy. I try to do my best because I knew I wanted to play one more year. I want to show I’m still a good player. I want everybody to see that I can play next year. It’s my goal right now.”

At this point it ought to be an open and shut case. Pittsburgh is going into the offseason with over $50 million in salary cap space. It doesn’t truly matter to anything beyond the bottom line whether they pay him $5, 10 or $15 million next season, they can easily fit him at any price (though here’s betting an extension will be closer to the lower-end of that spectrum).

Malkin’s season has been an inspired effort to prove himself all over again, to meet a challenge and earn a spot with the Pens in 2026-27. He’s passed those tests with flying colors. The NHL’s Olympic break starts in two weeks, it’s almost time for Dubas and the Pens to hold up their end of the bargain and reward the icon with a well-earned ticket to play in Pittsburgh next season.

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