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Critical Update On Evgeni Malkin's Future in Pittsburgh After Latest Penguins Insider Comments
Evegni Malkin's career is winding down, and now, a top Penguins insider has revealed when the veteran star may be officially departing the NHL and the Penguins.
Over the past two decades, there have been very few players in the NHL as consistent as Evgeni Malkin, and while he's not the biggest star on this Pittsburgh Penguins team, he's certainly been an absolute stud for the franchise and for the city.
Earlier this season, Malkin tallied his 1,200th game played in the NHL, and with all of them coming as a Penguin, it's safe to say that he'll one day have his jersey retired and will likely be remembered as one of the greatest players to ever play in the NHL.
At almost 39-years of age, his career is slowly coming to an end, and now, Penguins reporter Josh Yohe has predicted that at the end of the 2025/26 season, Malkin will call it quits with Pittsburgh.
«I bet he'll retire after next season. He knows he's not the same player he once was, and I don't think he's interested in declining too much further. He's got a lot of money. He's got a first-ballot Hall of Fame plaque locked up. I'm not sure what else there is to play for in his case. But - and this is a big but - if he has a good 2025-26 season, maybe he'll have the itch to stick around. Maybe. I doubt it. But only he knows that.»
Throughout his time with the Penguins, Malkin has tallied 511 goals and 1,339 total points, all while playing a key role in three Stanley Cup wins, putting him on the Mount Rushmore of Pittsburgh Penguins legends.
Ultimately though, as Yohe notes, Malkin doesn't want to be seen as a shell of himself at the NHL level, and unless he finds significant improvement in his game next year, it's more likely than not that he'll head home, whether that's to play in the KHL or to cruise off into retirement.
Regardless, there will likely never be another Penguin to wear No. 71 with plenty of post-career accolades on the way for one of the games modern day greats.
| POLL | ||
MARS 14 | 269 ANSWERS Critical Update On Evgeni Malkin's Future in Pittsburgh After Latest Penguins Insider Comments Will Evgeni Malkin retire at the end of 2026? | ||
| Yes | 195 | 72.5 % |
| No | 74 | 27.5 % |
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