Penguins icon makes major statement about his future

Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin has shared that he plans to play when the team returns from break on Saturday, per Rob Rossi of The Athletic. Malkin has missed Pittsburgh’s last six games after suffering an injury in the team’s Jan. 25 loss to Seattle. He suffered the injury roughly halfway through the first period after the skate of Kraken forward Chandler Stephenson seemed to catch Malkin in the thigh. He attempted to return for a brief shift later in the first but was ruled out before the game’s second period. Pittsburgh placed Malkin on injured reserve just two days later. He’ll need to be activated off of IR before Saturday’s game, forcing Pittsburgh to reassign a player like Vasiliy Ponomarev or Bokondji Imama.

The return of one of their lineup pillars will be great news in Pittsburgh. Malkin has continued to perform at a world-class level this year, with his 34 points in 47 games ranked fifth on the team in total scoring. In even better news, Malkin went on to emphasize to Rossi that he has no intentions of retiring this summer or playing anywhere else. 

He told The Athletic:

I not retire. I know what some people say — like, I go back to Russia and play for my home team. But I never say it, you know?

"I retire with Pittsburgh. The Penguins are my team. I love this team. When I retire it’s here. I retire here — with Penguins — when it happens. This is my only team.

"I not play in Russia after Pittsburgh. Maybe one game for home team in Russia. Just one to say goodbye." 

Malkin added that, despite speculation, he has no plans of playing anymore Russian hockey either — save for potentially a one-game send-off with his hometown Metallurg Magnitogorsk when all is said and done.

Malkin is signed through the end of the 2025-26 season, setting him up for at least one more full year in Pittsburgh’s black-and-gold. He’s squashed talks of a potential retirement this summer, which will naturally push attention back until his deal ends in 2026. But Malkin continues to hold down a strong, middle-six role for the Penguins, averaging north of 18 minutes of ice time each game this season. Fellow Penguins legend Sidney Crosby is signed through the end of the 2026-27 campaign, which could be enough to convince Malkin to find an extra gear and retire alongside his longtime partner-in-crime. One year after Crosby's debut, Malkin entered the NHL in 2006-07. Crosby scored a career-high 120 points in his first year alongside Malkin, while the latter managed his career-high of 113 points in their second year together.

Few duos in hockey history have stood as tall as Crosby and Malkin. The two have led three Stanley Cup wins and recorded the sole assist on each the other’s 500th NHL goal. They’re a ubiquitous tandem, and Malkin’s imminent return from lower-body injury sets him up to continue his role second to Crosby on the depth chart.

Malkin’s return will likely push one of Ponomarev, Blake Lizotte or Emil Bemstrom out of the lineup. Lizotte and Bemstrom scored one goal in their last 10 games, while Ponomarev is still searching for his first point after four NHL games this season. Should Ponomarev be the odd man out, he’ll likely return to a red-hot minor-league season. Ponomarev ranks fourth on the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring 29 points in 34 games.