All signs point to 2025-26 being Evgeni Malkin’s final season with the Penguins.
All good things must come to and end, and having Evgeni Malkin in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform for almost two decades has been one of the best things to ever happen to both the franchise and the player. Sadly, it appears the end is nigh for Malkin and the Penguins.
This news doesn’t come as a complete shock knowing the 2025-26 season will be Malkin’s 20th in the NHL and he will be 39 years old when the puck drops in October. He’s also entering the final year of a four-year contract and will need a new deal next offseason or he will hit free agency.
On Monday, Josh Yohe published a report in The Athletic detailing where things stand between the future Hall of Famer and the only franchise he has ever called home. Yohe doesn’t sugarcoat the situation and gets right to the heart of the matter in his report.
PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin will return for his 20th campaign with the Penguins next season.
It will be his last in Pittsburgh.
While it remains unclear if future Hall of Fame center will retire following the 2025-26 season, the Penguins are not expected to offer him another contract with the franchise, sources within the organization said.
Again, this news will not come as a great surprise given the circumstances, but if Malkin does indeed intend on playing past this season, seeing him wearing another team’s jersey may be tough to stomach for fans.
Of course there is no guarantee Malkin laces up the skates in 2026-27, but if he does he could very well head back home to Russia for a farewell tour with him home town club Magnitogorsk of the KHL. It should also be noted that when he’s not living in Pittsburgh, he owns a home in Miami, making the Florida Panthers a possible destination if he intends to continue his NHL career past next season.
Whatever Malkin’s plans are post 2025-26, they play out away from Pittsburgh unless there is a sudden change of heart from the Penguins, however, that does not seem likely to happen short of an out-of-this-world 2025-26 season from Malkin.
Again, per Yohe in The Athletic:
What is apparent to the Penguins’ front office, however, is that Malkin is declining and, at his age, isn’t likely to have a late-career resurgence. Malkin still showed flashes last season, but the Penguins, who are very much pushing a youth movement, do not believe that bringing him back after he turns 40 is sensible.
While seeing Malkin leave will be the closing of an important and successful chapter in Penguins history, we still have next season to enjoy one last ride with Geno. Yohe digs into what plans the front office is putting together to make sure Malkin’s last hurrah in Pittsburgh is one worth celebrating.
Yohe reports that the Penguins are planning on giving Malkin solid linemates to work with, starting with the newly acquired Tommy Novak who Malkin told the front office is someone he is interested in playing with. Novak was brought over from Nashville at the trade deadline but only played in two games before losing the rest of his season to injury.
What remains to be seen between Malkin and Novak is who plays wing and who plays center. Both players can and have played both, giving the Penguins options on which route to take with plenty of time to make any final decisions.
Who fills out the budding Malkin-Novak line remains to seen, but the Penguins will look at all options available to them to help give Malkin the best chance as success in his final run with the franchise.
While it was always inevitable that Malkin’s time in Pittsburgh was going to come to a close at some point, now that the moment is nearly here, it’s hard to swallow the reality that his era of Penguins hockey is beginning to end.
Whether or not Malkin fully hangs up the skates at the end of next season won’t diminish his standing as a legend in Pittsburgh. Three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe, two Art Ross trophies, a Hart Trophy, a Calder Trophy, and numerous career milestones make him one of the most decorated players in franchise history.
We have 82 more games to enjoy No. 71 in the black and gold. Let’s all enjoy one last ride with Geno and cherish every moment.