Thoughts of the future beyond this season weighed on Evgeni Malkin all summer.

Friday morning, when a reporter began an opening question by noting that Malkin has one season left on his contract, Malkin interjected, “And I know, too. Trust me.”

The longtime Penguins star said he hopes that both he and the team have a good enough year in 2025-26 that the Penguins will want him to come back for another season. He reiterated that he wants to play his whole NHL career here in Pittsburgh.

“It depends how the season is going,” he said Friday at training camp. “If we play great, I play great, I feel confident, I show my game, why not one more season?”

But as he heads into a contract year, and with the Penguins in a rebuild under Kyle Dubas, the uncertainty has forced Malkin, 39, to mull over

See Full Page