The question of the future of Evgeni Malkin was perhaps the main intrigue in the NHL for Russian fans this summer. The legendary striker suddenly turned out not to be needed by the team in which he spent his entire overseas career. Negotiations on a new contract between the hockey player and Pittsburgh ended in a deadlock, so the press has already started talking about changing the Russian club registration …

Now a long story with mutual grievances and big money finally got a denouement. Malkin got his way – knocked out a new generous contract from the Penguins. It looks like 35-year-old Eugene will end his professional career here.

“Pittsburgh” provided its star with a comfortable old age!

Nothing personal, just business

At the end of June, The Athletic questioned Malkin’s prospects at Pittsburgh. According to the publication, the American club, in which Eugene spent 16 years, no longer needs the player’s services. In any case, the re-signing of the contract with the Russian was called unlikely. On July 13, the striker could become a free agent, so the press has already begun to discuss his transition to other NHL teams.

It all came down to money, of course. Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, known for his frugality, was not ready to renew the agreement with Malkin on the same terms. Until recently, Evgeny earned a solid $ 9.5 million a year in Pittsburgh, but now the club considered it inappropriate to pay the striker such an amount. Considering the age and traumatism of the Russian, this decision is not difficult to understand.

Photo: © Debora Robinson / Contributor / National Hockey League / Gettyimages.com

Finances are finances, but the club should not forget about respect for its hero. It was precisely this circumstance that surprised Russian hockey fans in the summer history: Pittsburgh was ready to simply kick out the player with whom the team won the Stanley Cup three times. Is this how the Penguins treat veterans? Such an attitude could not but offend Eugene, who was already ready to make serious concessions for the sake of his dream:

I understand that this is a business. I love this city and these fans. If the team needs new blood and young guys, and they say to me: “You have to move on”, I don’t mind. But I hope that I will stay here forever, until the end of my career,” Malkin said.

“On reasonable terms”

It soon became clear that they still didn’t want to get rid of the player in Pittsburgh, but the negotiations between the parties were very difficult. After the comments of the club management, the accents in this story were placed differently. It turned out that this age-old Malkin demands too much from the “penguins”, while the bosses urge the Russian to be prudent – and moderate his appetites.

At the same time as Malkin, the Penguins were working on a deal to renew 35-year-old Chris Letang. The president of the club for hockey operations spoke of this as follows:

“We want them to renew their contracts, but they have to get back to numbers that make sense and don’t tie our hands. They must renew their contracts on reasonable terms or they will leave the club. Negotiations with Malkin are less decisive just because we need to know how much money we have to work with,” Brian Burke explained.

A little more optimistic about the prospects of Malkin spoke in early July, Ron Hakstall. The Penguins’ general manager called a deal with Yevgeny “the biggest priority” for the club and said that work on the renewal of the Russian striker is still underway. Fortunately, the parties still came to an agreement.

Paul Holmgren and Ron Hextall / Photo: © Bruce Bennett / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Second after Ovechkin

On July 13, it became known that Malkin had signed a new contract with Pittsburgh. The player’s agreement with the club is designed for 4 years: apparently, Evgeny’s dream of ending his career with the Penguins will still come true. In 2026, the Russian hockey player will just turn 40 years old – by hockey standards, the age is already advanced.

In order to maintain club registration, Malkin, as expected, had to go for a significant reduction in salary. According to CapFriendly, Yevgeny’s cap hit is $6.1 million, that is, he will receive $24.4 million in 4 years. By season, payments to the player are distributed as follows: $8 million, $6 million, $5.6 million, and $4.8 million. Contract striker also provides for a complete ban on his exchange.

At the end of 20 years in the Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Malkin will definitely not be offended. During his time at the club, Evgeny has already earned $118 million – this is the fifth result in the history of the NHL. Among the Russians, only Alexander Ovechkin earned more – more than 137 million. If you add another 24 million to Malkin’s current income, he will come out in the ranking in a clean third place, although Ovi, apparently, will not catch up: Alexander will earn a lot more money for the rest under the contract 4 years in Washington.

Photo: © Gregory Shamus / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

One way or another, Pittsburgh has long provided Malkin with a comfortable old age. With such savings, Evgeny had no reason not to make concessions: money has long been no problem for him. Now the player has decided the remaining career issues – the Russian’s path to the NHL should end beautifully and honorably.