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Is Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins getting set for his unofficial retirement tour? “Word is starting to circulate that the 2025-26 season will be Malkin’s last in the NHL,” writes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period this week. He adds, “The 38-year-old is entering the final year of his contract, and the future Hall-of-Famer may hang up his skates at the conclusion of Pittsburgh’s campaign a year from now.”
If true, it will be a huge happening for the Penguins’ organization and a big loss for the NHL. At the same time, it might not come as a massive shock seeing as the team is going through a rebuild/retool and not necessarily projected to be a Stanley Cup contender before Malkin’s deal runs out and his production takes a dip.
Malkin has played in 1,213 career regular-season games, scoring 514 goals and 832 assists for 1,346 points. This season, he played in 68 games and produced one of his lowest goal-scoring campaigns of his last several relatively healthy seasons.
The three-time Stanley Cup champ is a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, the 2007 Calder Trophy winner, the 2009 Conn Smythe winner, and the 2012 Hart winner and Ted Lindsay winner. However, he’s slowing, and it’s likely he’s not interested in playing for a team that isn’t the Penguins.
Penguins Looking to Go Younger, Malkin Likely Not Part of the Plan
Pittsburgh is looking at a youth movement, which means moving on from names like Erik Karlsson and potentially Malkin. Sidney Crosby seems to be the only player the Penguins will try to keep under most circumstances. He would have to tell the franchise he wants out, whereas other players might be on Dubas’ trade to-do list. At this point, Crosby has not indicated he’s looking to go anywhere.
Malkin holds a full no-move clause, so the most likely scenario is that he plays out the last of this contract and then retires from the NHL.
More must-reads:
- NHL players who will send their GM a 'thank you' card next summer
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Bruins prospect won't play at Arizona State after all
Boston Bruins forward prospect Cole Spicer won’t move forward with his commitment to Arizona State University, per Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. Spicer previously played two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but returned to the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2024-25 season. He was set to join Arizona State as a junior-year transfer this fall. Instead, it will be a fall of uncertainty for the 2022 fourth-round pick. Of note, Spicer’s split from ASU could be a result of being sidelined. He was said to be dealing with significant injury issues, per sources available to Ty Anderson of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. Spicer dealt with concussions through his time in junior and collegiate hockey, and has been severely limited through multiple parts of the last two seasons. He missed 20 games with Minnesota-Duluth in 2023-24 due to a concussion and being declared academically-ineligible for the second semester. His injury woes continued through this season, as he missed 25 games with Dubuque for various reasons. He even sustained an injury in his very first game with the Fighting Saints. The plot around Spicer’s relationship with hockey has grown thick. He cited recovery from concussions as a major limiter of his academic performance in a 2024 interview with Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal. Spicer also cited the mental health challenges that came with routine absences, low-scoring, and battles through concussion recovery. Struggles with concentration and mental health are two common, but often underdiscussed, symptoms of concussions that can drag on beyond official clearance to return. Spicer was once a top prospect in America’s 2004 age group. He was recruited to the U.S. National Team Development Program’s 2004 cohort in 2020, after a 15u AAA season that saw him post 51 goals, 118 assists, and 169 points in 63 games with Honeybaked. Spicer struggled to earn a starring role at the NTDP behind Logan Cooley, Frank Nazar and Rutger McGroarty. He was relegated to a bottom-six role in both seasons, and scored just 21 points in 46 USHL games with the Program. Still, his high-motor and gritty forechecking was enough to convince Boston to draft Spicer with the 117th overall pick in 2022. Spicer followed his draft selection with a move to the Bulldogs lineup. He again found himself trapped behind a stacked top-six, and scored just six points in 32 games from a fourth-line role in his freshman year. He added nine points in 17 games as a sophomore, before stepping away from the team. It was a quartet of underwhelming seasons for the feisty centerman — but one that he made up for with a return to the USHL this season. He scored 35 points in 37 games on the full year, good for Dubuque’s team-lead in points-per-game. As things stand, there appears to be no clear path forward for Spicer. At age 21, he’ll no longer have eligibility to return to the USHL or CHL. He could transfer to a third — or, fourth, after an initial commitment to North Dakota — collegiate program, though another NCAA move would be a surprise on the heels of this news. With that, it seems minor-league, or European, pros will be his best options, should he decide to continue his career next season. The Grand Forks-native will be one to watch for Bruins fans trying to get a full picture of the team’s pipeline.
Pitcher bizarrely faces old team on same day of trade
Seranthony Dominguez certainly had an eventful day on Tuesday. The veteran MLB reliever began the day on the Baltimore Orioles and was with his teammates in the dugout during the first leg of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The O's went on to win, 16-4, at Oriole Park in Baltimore, though Dominguez did not pitch during the game. But the day took a bizarre turn when the two teams agreed to a deal in the middle of the doubleheader. The Orioles traded Dominguez to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league pitcher Juaron Watts-Brown. That led to a strange scene where Dominguez switched clubhouses after being traded, walking across the hallway to get to the Toronto side. Things got even weirder during the second leg of the doubleheader. Dominguez got the call to pitch for the Blue Jays against his former team. He had to walk past his ex-Baltimore teammates to get to the Toronto bullpen, and then entered the game in the seventh inning to pitch. Here is the unusual spectacle that saw Dominguez pitch against the guys that he began the day as teammates with. The whole thing was so bizarre that it even looked like Dominguez received a hastily-made Blue Jays jersey with the “8” in his No. 48 apparently stuck on backwards. Dominguez, a 30-year-old in his seventh MLB season, ended up striking out two in a scoreless frame against his former team. We have certainly seen instances of MLB players getting traded in the middle of games before, but that had to be the first instance of a player starting the first half of a doubleheader on one team and then pitching in the second half for the other team.
Commanders reportedly hesitant about one issue with Terry McLaurin deal
The 2024 offseason expanded the $30M-per-year wide receiver club to six members. D.K. Metcalf, Ja’Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson have taken it to nine this year. Terry McLaurin is undoubtedly pushing to bump that number to 10, after seeing 2019 Day 2 classmates Metcalf and A.J. Brown land among that contingent. McLaurin reported to training camp Sunday and landed on the active/PUP list. As our Rory Parks explained, skepticism exists about how injured the Commanders’ top wide receiver really is. An ankle injury has keyed the PUP stay, but it can be safely assumed McLaurin would be ready to practice if an extension comes to pass. Nevertheless, the Commanders have been surprised by the difficulty of these talks. Using an injury to avoid practicing while negotiating — developments the Jonathan Taylor and Micah Parsons sagas brought — represents a third tactic, joining the holdout and the increasingly utilized hold-in amid extension talks. McLaurin shifted from a holdout to the injury route; no matter how he is accomplishing not practicing, the seventh-year veteran is aiming to land a lucrative third contract. His age provides a complication for Washington. McLaurin is going into an age-30 season, separating him from Brown and Metcalf. Both Ole Miss products were drafted just before McLaurin, a 2019 third-round pick, but they are each two years younger. This strengthened their cases for big-ticket third contracts. McLaurin went first to ignite the second-tier boom on the receiver market in 2022, agreeing to a three-year, $69.6M extension. That shaped the Metcalf and Deebo Samuel extensions, both of which coming in higher than McLaurin’s despite the latter’s consistency with suboptimal quarterback situations. McLaurin’s AAV has dropped to 17th at wide receiver. The Commanders are prepared to extend their top wideout, but Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline indicates the "holdup" is regarding the $30M-AAV number. Some around the league point to the team not wanting to go into that neighborhood for McLaurin, despite his five 1,000-yard seasons. Courtland Sutton and McLaurin are nearly the same age, and the Broncos’ top target signed a four-year, $92M extension. That matches where the Titans went for Calvin Ridley (now 30) in 2024. McLaurin, though, has a better resume than both and should be aiming higher. The Commanders have a Jayden Daniels rookie contract to structure another McLaurin extension around as well. Adam Peters was around for the 49ers’ 2022 Samuel extension but not Brandon Aiyuk‘s $30M-per-year deal. (The Samuel extension also did not work out for the 49ers, who proceeded with a salary dump of sorts by trading him to the Commanders.) The second-year GM taking a hardline stance with McLaurin would be an interesting route given the WR’s importance to a sudden contender. Peters confirmed talks are ongoing, with that comment coming after McLaurin expressed frustration about the negotiations. A potential gap between the pack of 20-somethings (and Tyreek Hill) north of $30M AAV and the Tee Higgins–Jaylen Waddle–D.J. Moore tier could be relevant here, and it will be interesting to see if McLaurin settles for something just south of that $30MM benchmark. Guarantees and contract structure, of course, will be important to determining the value as well. A short-term extension should be reached soon, per Pauline, but if the Commanders hold the line at or around $30M, the McLaurin matter could drag on for a while longer.
Paul Finebaum Hints At Premier College Football Coach Being Fired with Poor Season
The 2025 college football season presents significant pressure for top coaches. Another disappointing season could result in them seeking new jobs. One of the coaches in question is Brent Venables, who is the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. He is entering his fourth season in this position. However, in two of his first three seasons, Venables' team has ended with a losing record, a situation that hadn’t occurred for more than 20 years before he took over. The Sooners are coming off a 6-7 season last year; however, there is some optimism for this season as they have added former Washington State Cougars quarterback John Mateer and former California Golden Bears running back Jaydn Ott to their roster. Last season, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, while also rushing for 826 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns. Although Ott faced challenges with injuries during the 2024 season, he had an impressive performance in 2023, rushing for 1,315 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns. On "The Paul Finebaum Show," SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum stated that the Sooners need to start the season with a 5-0 record before facing Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Following that game, he believes they are likely to lose to Texas and will then need to secure a 4-2 record to finish the year. If they don't, he could be looking for a new job. "If they can win all but maybe two of those games, I think that Brent Venables may have a great record and will likely be around for a while," Finebaum said. "Otherwise, I think you know the answer to the question." If the Sooners decide to part ways with Venables, it would come with a hefty price tag. Venables' buyout is $34.9 million following this season. This speculation from Finebaum arises just one year after Venables agreed to a significant contract extension. Venables signed a six-year contract after the 2023 season, which the Oklahoma Board of Regents approved in June 2024. The deal guarantees him an annual salary of over $8.5 million for its entire duration. He originally signed a six-year, $43.5 million contract with the Sooners in December 2021. Venables' contract is fully guaranteed, and after this season, his buyout will decrease by nearly $10 million each year until the end of the contract. The Sooners are hopeful that Venables’ team can bounce back this season and avoid the need to search for a new coach in the upcoming offseason. Oklahoma is scheduled to open the season at 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 30 against the Illinois State Redbirds.
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