Rumors of Evgeni Malkin’s Potential Retirement Puts Focus on His Penguins Legacy

For the last 19 seasons, the “Big Three” have been a staple for the Pittsburgh Penguins. From Stanley Cups to individual awards, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin have done everything in the Steel City. Now heading into their 20th season together, there will be a few questions surrounding two of the three. With one and three seasons left on the contracts of Malkin and Letang, respectively, what does the future hold for them? More importantly, could this be the final season of Malkin’s career in the NHL as his four-year, $6.1 million average annual value (AAV) contract ends at the end of the 2025-26 season?

The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta believes this could be the case with rumblings beginning to circulate that Malkin could very well hang up the skates in a year. If this is to be his final season in the NHL, just how strong of a legacy will he be leaving with?

Malkin Retiring Is a Very Strong Possibility Now

On Feb. 19, reports came out that Malkin was not ready to retire, with one of them coming from Sportsnet. With there not being much context to the quote, there has been confusion on whether he meant he was not ready to retire at the end of last season, or if he is not ready to retire anytime soon and would like to be extended past the 2025-26 season. However, on June 16, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe made it clearer as he confirmed this will be Malkin’s final season in Pittsburgh, with the Penguins having no interest in offering him a contract extension (from ‘What I’m hearing about Evgeni Malkin’s future with the Penguins,’ The Athletic, 6/16/25). Although it is unclear if his hockey career is over, whether it be in the NHL or not, it will not come as a huge surprise.

A noticeable trend over the last three seasons has been the decline in point production. Over Malkin’s career, he has consistently been one of the more reliable guys to help the Penguins get going with points, whether it be with a goal or an assist. However, aging and injuries have caused him to become a little less reliable production-wise. Although it is not entirely on him for not producing as much, mostly due to not having pre-established stars on his line, the lack of production will be difficult for a team to overlook when trying to pitch a contract to Malkin, despite him repeatedly saying he only wants to play for the Penguins.

He Would Be Leaving the League With a Strong Legacy

Throughout his career, Malkin gradually climbed to become a top player in the league while building a strong legacy repping the Penguins’ logo. The individual awards he has won are a testament to the type of player and character he has been on the ice. He quickly made an impact on an individual level by capturing the Calder Memorial Trophy for top rookie with 33 goals and 85 points. He added a few more awards to his trophy cabinet not long after with the Art Ross, Conn Smythe, and a Stanley Cup in the 2008-09 season. Since then, he has added two Stanley Cups (2015-16 and 2016-17), another Art Ross (2011-12), a Ted Lindsay, and a Hart Memorial Trophy in the same season.