Contract Talks For Evgeni Malkin To Now Occur After The Season

Heading into the season, it was expected that the Penguins would work on figuring out what’s next for Evgeni Malkin by talking to his camp during the Olympic break.  That break has come and gone and those discussions have happened but evidently, no decisions have been made yet.  Instead, he told reporters following yesterday’s game, including NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, that contract talks between the two sides will now occur after the season:

I don’t know if it’s a secret or not, but we talked a little bit with J.P. a couple days ago. Just said, ‘Wait until the end of the season and see what’s going on.’ Nothing I can say right now.

Malkin is in the final season of a four-year, $24MM contract and heading into the season, it felt like this might be the time when he moves on.  Pittsburgh appeared to be heading into a rebuild and while he’s certainly a fan favorite, carrying a soon-to-be 40-year-old during a rebuild doesn’t make a lot of sense.

But things have changed since then.  Instead of being near the bottom of the standings, the Penguins find themselves squarely in a playoff spot, sitting second in the Metropolitan Division.  Even without Sidney Crosby for the next few weeks at least, GM Kyle Dubas isn’t likely to be the heavy seller he was expected to be just a few months ago.  If anything, they might be looking to add a piece or two to their roster.

That will justify the decision to effectively kick the decision on Malkin’s future down the road for a little while longer.  The number two selection back in 2004, Malkin has spent his entire 20-year career in Pittsburgh and is heading for a first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame down the road.

While he isn’t the 100-plus-point player that he was in his prime, Malkin has had somewhat of a resurgent showing under new head coach Dan Muse this season.  He has 13 goals and 34 assists in 44 games this season, putting him over the point per game mark.  If he can maintain that, it’ll be the 16th time he reaches that plateau and the first since 2022-23.

Malkin has made it clear on multiple occasions that he doesn’t want to leave Pittsburgh.  At this stage of his career, should he receive another contract, it’s likely to be a one-year pact.  Given his output this season, there’s a case to be made that it should check in around his current $6MM AAV while he’d also be eligible for potential performance bonuses on a one-year pact if the Penguins needed some extra cap flexibility.  But instead of having more clarity on that front heading into this week’s trade deadline, he’ll have to wait at least a couple of months longer to get it.