{"id":479168,"date":"2026-02-20T04:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/479168\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T04:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:01:08","slug":"penguins-evgeni-malkin-expected-to-discuss-extension-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/479168\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins, Evgeni Malkin Expected To Discuss Extension \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Penguins are presumed to sit down with icon Evgeni Malkin<\/a> and discuss an extension before the NHL season starts again next Wednesday, as outlined by David Pagnotta in an article published by The Fourth Period<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Pagnotta, prior to the Olympic break, it had been planned that GM Kyle Dubas and Malkin\u2019s agent J.P. Barry would work through their options. It has yet to happen, but there\u2019s still a plan to do so, at least laying the groundwork for a new contract which could be finalized down the road. Naturally, Malkin\u2019s status has been a major story in Pittsburgh this season, and after this week, both sides should have a stronger indication of what\u2019s next.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As difficult as it is to imagine the 39-year-old wearing anything else other than the black and yellow, 20 years into his Penguins tenure, the club has missed the playoffs in each of their last three seasons. Pittsburgh hasn\u2019t won a playoff round since 2018, when Phil Kessel<\/a> was still dishing it around on Malkin\u2019s wing at an elite level.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Former GM Ron Hextall\u2019s efforts to keep the window open proved futile, leaving Dubas with the difficult situation of simultaneously building toward the future, while doing the team\u2019s beloved stars right and not letting them go out quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of that to say, there was enough reason to speculate if the core had one more run left in them, or if Malkin and Sidney Crosby<\/a> could split before it is all said and done. Instead, to the credit of Dubas, the Pens are well on their way back to the postseason. Not all of the former Toronto executive\u2019s moves have panned out perfectly, but if anything, the team\u2019s revival is a testament to the legend of Malkin and Crosby. Just last month,<\/a> it was starting to become apparent that the predicament was fading away, and an extension should materialize.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A -24 last season with 50 points in 68 games, Geno has turned the page in 2025-26, currently at over a point-per-game production in 41 contests. His metrics at even strength have dipped, just below the 50% mark in corsi for in all situations, but Malkin remains elite on the power play and still a vital top six contributor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Outlined in the article, Malkin is likely willing to take a pay cut from his current $6.1MM value on a one-year extension, taking him through 2026-27, which is also Crosby\u2019s final year signed. Such will have to be worked out in the coming weeks, but in all likelihood, Penguins fans can look ahead to a proper final chapter for their franchise giants of the 21st century.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Penguins are presumed to sit down with icon Evgeni Malkin and discuss an extension before the NHL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[56347,385,1790,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-479168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-evgeni-malkin","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}