HIGHLIGHTS
- Evgeni Malkin re-signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins on a one-year deal
- The $5.5M AAV contract includes up to $3.5M in performance bonuses and a no-movement clause
- Read below for full contract details and what it means for Pittsburgh’s offseason
Evgeni Malkin is staying in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins re-signed the future Hall of Famer to a one-year contract extension Tuesday, keeping him in black and gold for his age-40 season. The deal carries a $5.5M AAV, down from the $6.1M on his previous contract.
Pittsburgh made it official Tuesday afternoon, tweeting out “Welcome back, Geno”.
Nobody really expected to see Malkin leave Pittsburgh, but it’s good to see his return made official.
Per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, the deal includes up to $3.5M in bonuses. That’s $500K for games played, $1M if Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, and $500K for each round the team wins. There’s also a full no-movement clause.
Malkin was easily Pittsburgh’s best player in the first-round series against the Flyers, scoring twice in six games. His regular season was impressive too, notching 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games — his first point-per-game pace since 2022-23.
Geno was his usual, humorous self in the team video:
“Best city, best fans, I stay one more year,” Malkin said. “Penguins forever.”
Malkin also joked while signing the deal that he wanted to add another zero to his contract. The man is 39 years old and still has one of the best personalities in the NHL.
GM Kyle Dubas had been open about wanting Malkin back all spring. He said in May that he doesn’t feel Malkin was blocking younger forwards from getting ice time, pointing to promising rookie Ben Kindel as someone who could actually benefit from another season alongside Geno.
“The result of that process is Evgeni returning to the Penguins for his 21st season with the club,” Dubas said in the team release. “We look forward to Geno continuing to provide great moments for the city of Pittsburgh.”
Not that Malkin was ever really leaving, but free agency is set to be quite underwhelming this summer. Darren Raddysh and Anthony Mantha as the headliners? Hopefully some GMs swing trades because the UFA pool is looking lackluster, to say the least.
Closer to home, Pittsburgh has $37M in projected cap space left per PuckPedia, but plenty more to sort out. There are no goaltenders under contract for next season. UFAs include Anthony Mantha, Kevin Hayes, and Stuart Skinner. Sidney Crosby also enters the final year of his deal, meaning that extension conversation is coming too.
It’s unclear if this will be Malkin’s final season, but it’d only be right for Geno to finish his career in the Steel City.
21 seasons, three Cups, a Hall of Fame resume. Geno is forever a Pittsburgh legend.
