Malkin Still Hungry, Still Having Fun

At the end of May, Evgeni Malkin put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension after speculation swirled about his future in Pittsburgh.

The franchise legend was in good spirits when he signed his name, with his trademark humor coming through.

“How much they give me, I don’t know! Maybe I put one more zero,” Malkin joked in a behind-the-scenes video. “Where is zeroes? I can’t put one more?”

After it became official, with $5.5 million the average annual value, Malkin exclaimed, “Best day in my life!”

Getting that situation taken care of allowed Malkin to be in the right headspace as he went through his usual offseason routine. He spent time in Miami, where he has a home, before returning to Russia to see friends and family.

“Yeah, of course, it's easy. Your head feels good, you have one more year,” Malkin said. “Just try be my best. I have injury last year. Little bit of recovery, and feel healthy.”

Malkin was asked that if it’s possible and if he feels good, would he like to play more than just this year?

“More? What do you mean? 25 minutes (laughs)? You mean years or game?” Malkin said with a laugh before admitting that at this point, it’s a hard question to answer. He’ll have to see how he feels physically.

“I still love the game. It’s why I'm here 21 years,” Malkin said. “I love the game. I'm excited every shift. Practice, battle, see guys around, have fun. But most important is how your body feels. I’m a person where if I do not feel 100%, I'm not playing, you know? Because I want to be on my top level. I don't like just spend time, just do nothing. It’s not my game. If I can make an impact with my game, help the team to win, I will. But if not, I'm retired.”

Malkin has been teammates with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang for those two decades, with the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports tacking another season onto their time together.

“Great teammates. Great friends,” Malkin said. “It’s not just here because we win three (championships). I hope we’re here because we still play good. We showed last year we made the playoffs. I hope this year, the same, we help the team make (the) playoffs. I would like to play longer. Again, these are two of my best friends here. I’m excited for one more year together.”

For Crosby’s part, he mentioned the season Malkin put together in 2025-26 a couple of different times. Malkin finished as a point-per-game player at age 39, putting up 19 goals and 61 points in just 56 games, missing 26 due to the aforementioned injury and a suspension. Malkin then recorded two goals and three points in six playoff games to cap off the season.

“He had a great year last year, and I've been fortunate to play with him for so long, and it's not something you take for granted by any means,” Crosby said. “Just grateful I've been able to play with him this long, and really happy for him. He had an unbelievable year, and it was great to see him get rewarded.”

Now 40 years old, Malkin quips that he’s the old guy in the Penguins locker room, and that he’ll have to keep using his experience to help the younger players, particularly the Russian-speaking ones.

Malkin showed excellent leadership with the likes of Egor Chinakhov, Arturs Silovs and Ilya Solovyov last year, and has already built a rapport with newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko. They hadn’t met before this summer, but ended up working out together back in Russia.

“I think it's more fun. It's more Russian language around,” Malkin said. “It's crazy, I'm here, like, 20 years, and probably the last 15 years, no Russians around. But now, it’s almost, like, six or seven players. I hope they stay on team. I hope they show best game. And if I have chance to help, like any advice, go to dinner, just do it. I do my best, too. I know I'm old guy here, and I have experience. And just, anytime, anywhere.”

That’s what management expects from Malkin, along with continuing to produce at a high level and helping the Penguins take strides.

“(Kyle Dubas) said, we’re excited you’ll be here next year,” Malkin said. “The team loves you, team likes you. We have great coaches. Last year, I showed (a) good game. I’m excited to be here. I’m here to win. ... I’m still hungry.”