Pittsburgh Penguin' forward Evgeni Malkin addressed his future with the organization during Friday's locker cleanout.
During the Pittsburgh Penguins' locker cleanout day on Friday, one of their longtime stars addressed some of the uncertainty concerning his future with the organization.
Evgeni Malkin, 40, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and as of now, he does not have a new contract for next season. He and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas plan to meet before Malkin heads home to Russia for the summer, but in the meantime, he addressed the Pittsburgh media Friday for what could be his final time in a Penguins' uniform.
Malkin - drafted second overall in 2004 - has spent all 20 of his NHL seasons with the Penguins, and, for the first time, there seems to be some uncertainty about his future in Pittsburgh. With the direction the Penguins are headed in terms of getting younger - and him turning 40 this summer - it remains unclear whether or not Dubas will re-sign Malkin, who has amassed 533 goals and 1,407 points in his NHL career and was above point-per-game for the first time in three years this season.
Even if Dubas and the Penguins have not yet come to a decision regarding Malkin, it's clear what Malkin wants, as it has been for a long time and after 20 years of playing with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.
"Now I want more, you know?" Malkin said. "It's different emotion when you play playoffs. Fans are crazy. First game against Philly, in warmup, it's probably, like, 18,000 already here. Again, yeah, I want to play again, for sure. It’s special two guys for me. Love to play together. And yeah, we're not happy we lost, but we try to fight every game. But sometimes, you're losing.
"But again, these are two special guys. I hope we play together one more year. But if not, I have great 20 years together. And never forget."
Malkin also made it clear that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh - and would accept a role change if he stays - but he would be willing to sign elsewhere if Dubas and the Penguins decide to go in a different direction.
"It's fine if I start wing next year. It’s coach wants me, and I help second line to play wing, it's fine. Nothing changes (for) me like crazy. Just, like, a little bit," Malkin said. "But I think it worked this year. I play not bad. I think it's play with Tommy [Tommy Novak] and Chinny [Egor Chinakhov]. But we see what coach wants (from) me. And it's always, like, you talk to individual, like with coach, and he tell you what role he wants to see (from you on) team. But for me, it's not been a problem."
He added: "I mean, I want to play NHL, for sure. But again, I know it's not easy for Kyle. Maybe he wants new blood here. I understand it's business, and I understand he wants maybe new team, see new faces here. But for me, I want to play one more year in the NHL. I'm not looking back to KHL, play in Russia.
"But if not Pittsburgh, I hope some team."
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