Penguins reportedly re-signed Evgeni Malkin for this one reason

There was a feeling that contract talks involving Pittsburgh Penguins icon Evgeni Malkin and team president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas could drag on into the summer. 

Thus, it was somewhat surprising when it was learned on Tuesday that the Penguins were bringing Malkin back via a one-year, $5.5M deal. According to Penguins insider Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Dubas planned roughly one year ago to move on from Malkin following the 2025-26 season.

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"I know without question that Dubas planned to walk away from Malkin after last season," Yohe shared on Tuesday. "Otherwise, they would’ve made a deal sooner. Dubas didn’t expect the Penguins to be as good as they were. Not by a long shot. And if they didn’t make the playoffs, there’s no way he would have brought Malkin back."

Even Penguins superstar captain Sidney Crosby acknowledged in September 2025 that "the expectations from the outside are pretty low" regarding what the club would accomplish this season. Pittsburgh then stunned outside observers by going 8-2-2 early into the campaign en route to reaching the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, ESPN stats show that Malkin ended the regular season ranked fifth on the team with 19 goals and fifth with 61 points over 56 games.

What's next for the Penguins? 

Much was said and written about how Dubas seemingly wasn't keen on re-signing Malkin, who will turn 40 years old on July 31, largely because the executive wants to assemble a younger and faster roster. For what it's worth, Dubas insisted during his end-of-season news conference that he "would love to have" Malkin back and that Malkin wasn't "blocking anybody out" as it pertains to a younger player in the Penguins' system possibly taking his spot. 

"But here’s the sobering reality," Yohe added. "The Penguins’ best players last season, by my count, were Crosby, [Erik Karlsson], Malkin, [Egor Chinakhov], [Anthony Mantha], Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Rank them however you’d like — their respective ages next season will be 39, 36, 40, 25, 31, 34 and 33. That’s a problem, and it’s one that Malkin can’t cure."

Bringing Malkin back doesn't cure what was wrong with the Penguins during their first-round playoff loss to the rival Philadelphia Flyers. That said, the move also shouldn't prevent Dubas from going big-game hunting if he has any interest in attempting to make one final run at a title with Crosby, Malkin and longtime defenseman Kris Letang on the roster.