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Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall announced Tuesday night that the team has agreed to terms with forward Efgeni Malkin on a Four-Year contract extension. The contact extension carries an average annual value of $6.1 million and will run through the 2025-26 season.
“Evgeni is a generational talent who will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NHL history,” said Hextall. “His hockey resume and individual accomplishments speak volumes about him as a player, and we are thrilled to watch him continue his remarkable legacy in Pittsburgh.”
You can read the full press release below for more info.
PRESS RELEASE
Penguins Agree to Terms with Forward Evgeni Malkin on a Four-Year Contract Extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to terms with forward Evgeni Malkin on a four-year, $24.4 million contract extension, it was announced today by general manager Ron Hextall.
The deal begins in the 2022-23 season and runs through the 2025-26 campaign and carries an average annual value of $6.1 million.
“Evgeni is a generational talent who will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NHL history,” said Hextall. “His hockey resume and individual accomplishments speak volumes about him as a player, and we are thrilled to watch him continue his remarkable legacy in Pittsburgh.”
A three-time Stanley Cup Champion (2009, ’16, ’17), Malkin has played all 16 of his NHL seasons with the Penguins, where he ranks in the top-5 in team history in almost all major statistical categories including games played (981, 2nd), goals (444, 3rd), assists (702, 3rd), points (1,146, 3rd), power-play goals (162, 2nd), game-winning goals (78, T-1st) and overtime goals (13, 2nd). Only Mario Lemieux (17) and Sidney Crosby (17) have played more seasons in a Penguins sweater.
The seven-time NHL All-Star has won a plethora of individual awards as well, including two Art Ross Trophies (2009, ’12) awarded to the NHL’s regular-season scoring leader, one Hart Trophy (2012) awarded to the league MVP, one Ted Lindsay Award (2012) given to the “most outstanding player”, one Calder Trophy (2007) awarded to the league’s rookie of the year as well as one Conn Smythe Trophy (2009) given to the NHL’s playoff MVP. He was also voted Penguins Team MVP by his fellow teammates on five separate occasions.
Some of Malkin’s most iconic performances have come in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound center was instrumental to the team in their 2009 Stanley Cup Championship run where he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after posting a league-best 36 points (14G-22A). In doing so, he became the fourth-youngest Conn Smythe winner in NHL history at 22 years, 10 months. Malkin also led the NHL in playoff scoring during the 2017 postseason, recording 28 points (10G-18A) in 25 games en route to his third Stanley Cup. Overall Malkin ranks 14th in all-time NHL postseason scoring with 180 points (67G-113A) in 177 playoff games. Only Sidney Crosby (201) has more playoff points in franchise history than Malkin.
The 35-year old Malkin is one of just 37 players in NHL history to eclipse the 100-point plateau three times or more (2008, ’09, ’12), and is one of just six active players to do so. He’s also registered one 50-goal season (2012), and has averaged a point per game or better in 14 of his 16 seasons. Since entering the league in 2006-07, Malkin ranks fourth in the NHL in goals (444) and points (1,146), and third in points-per-game average (1.17).
Malkin, a native of Magnitogorsk, Russia, is one of the most accomplished Russian players in NHL history. He is one of just four Russian-born players all-time (Igor Larionov, Sergei Fedorov, Sergei Brylin) to win three Stanley Cup Championships, and his 1.17 points-per-game average is most in league history among his countrymen. Only Alex Ovechkin (1,410) and Sergei Fedorov (1,179) have more points than Malkin among Russian-born NHLers. He has also represented Russia on the international stage on multiple occasions including three Olympic Winter Games (2006, ’10, ’14), eight World Championships (2005, ’06, ’07, ’10, ’12, ’14, ’15, ’19), three World Junior Championships (2004, ’05, ’06), two World Under-18 Junior Championships (2003, ’04) and one World Cup of Hockey (2016).
Malkin was originally drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round (2nd overall) in the 2004 NHL Draft.