Penguins' Evgeni Malkin sends message about uncertain future after dominant win over Avalanche

Pittsburgh Penguins star and franchise icon Evgeni Malkin returned from a five-game suspension he received for a dangerous slash to play in Monday night's game against the Colorado Avalanche, who are atop the overall NHL standings. 

Malkin then put on quite a show as he scored twice and added an assist in what became a 7-2 victory. Following the win, Malkin spoke about recent conversations he has had with Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas regarding his future. The veteran forward, who turns 40 years old this coming summer, is in the final year of his deal.

Penguins, Evgeni Malkin punting contract talks for down the road?

"I can’t say anything," Malkin explained, per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. "We (Malkin and Dubas) talked probably two weeks ago. He told me we would talk this summer. I’m OK with that. We have 15 games left — I hope playoffs. I want to just play. He asked if I wanted to play next year. I said yes. He said, 'Don’t worry, (we’ll) talk after the season.' I’m OK (with that). I feel great. I want to play next year, too. Maybe two years. Who knows? Again, it’s just business."

Superstar Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is currently under contract through the 2026-27 campaign, and it's thought he will want to continue having Malkin as a teammate through at least next season. That said, Dubas embraced a youth-movement mentality before the Penguins became the top surprise team of the ongoing campaign. 

Following Monday's NHL action, 34-18-15 Pittsburgh remained in the second playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division standings. Per ESPN stats, Malkin began Tuesday ranked fourth on the Penguins with 50 points and tied for sixth with 15 goals. 

The version of Malkin that took the ice on Monday can unquestionably continue to offer positive contributions for the club through another season. However, Dubas may decline to present Malkin anything other than a team-friendly one-year deal. It remains to be seen how Malkin's camp would respond to such a "take it or leave it" offer. 

When will Sidney Crosby return from injury? 

The Penguins have been without Crosby since he suffered a lower-body injury during the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics men's hockey tournament in February. On Tuesday, Yohe predicted that Crosby will return either for Wednesday's matchup at the Carolina Hurricanes (42-18-6) or for this coming Saturday's home game versus the Winnipeg Jets (28-28-10).

Crosby still leads the Pens with 59 points and 27 goals on the season, even though he has missed 11 straight games since the end of the Olympic break.