There is speculation at this time that this could be the final season for center Evgeni Malkin of Magnitogorsk, Russia. At 39 years of age, Malkin has been in the National Hockey League for 19 seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The reason why there is a belief that the second overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft may retire is because he is in the final year of a four-year contract where he is set to earn $6.1 million. Let’s take a look at three teams that Malkin could end his NHL career with.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The most likely team are the Penguins. Malkin has spent his entire career with this organization, where he has been a fixture alongside Sidney Crosby. While in Pittsburgh he has won three Stanley Cups, and there is a feeling by many that Malkin, Crosby, and Kris Letang will end their careers as Penguins.
Minnesota Wild
Malkin was actually seen working out in the offseason with Wild left winger Kirill Kaprizov of Novokuznetsk. The former Calder Trophy winner had 56 points in 41 games for Minnesota this past season, and now has 386 points in his first 319 NHL games. If Malkin builds some chemistry with Kaprizov in preseason workouts, the Wild might be interested in Malkin if the Penguins are out of contention by February.
New York Rangers
The Rangers are a possibility for a couple of reasons. First, that is where head coach Mike Sullivan of Marshfield, Massachusetts is now the bench boss. Sullivan was named the Rangers head coach on May 2. Prior to coaching the Rangers, Sullivan was the head coach of the Penguins, where he coached Malkin for a decade. Second, the Rangers might be interested in pairing Malkin with superstar forward and fellow Russian Artemi Panarin of Korkino, Russia. Panarin has had 397 points with the Rangers over the last four seasons, but had 31 fewer points in 2024-25 than 2023-24.
Malkin in 2024-25
Malkin had 16 goals and 34 assists for 50 points in 68 games. He was a -24 with 42 penalty minutes, 16 power-play points, three game-winning goals, 125 shots on goal, 290 faceoff wins, 48 blocked shots, 32 hits, 30 takeaways and 79 giveaways.
This past season, Malkin had two four point performances in a single game. He accomplished the feat in a 6-5 Penguins overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on October 16 (one goal and three assists), and in a 5-4 Penguins overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers on February 27 (two goals and two assists).
