Evgeni Malkin Wants To Stay With Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas joined First Shift with EJ Hradek and Dan Rosen on NHL Network on Monday. There, he was asked about the status of Evgeni Malkin’s contract for next season.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
EJ Hradek: “Okay, very quickly. You play Colorado tonight. You get (Evgeni) Malkin back in the lineup. You’re in a unique situation with older players who were great players. His contract is up. Obviously, I don’t think he’s going to make any news one way or the other here, but what’s that process like?
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Kyle Dubas: “So what we’ve tried to do is communicate with them a lot. Geno is Geno, so he’s going to express himself, and like I said, he’s got the right to do that, but we’ve said exactly how we want to handle it, and it’s not the same for everyone.
We extended to (Blake) Lizotte during the year, just because he was looking at the center market in the offseason, his value to our team, and we just felt like it was the right thing to do for the Pittsburgh Penguins. So we will always do what is best for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But that being said, there are guys on the team who deserve to be treated very special and differently, and we’re going to handle it that way. So we’ve continued to have conversations, with Geno and JP Barry, and will continue to have as the season approaches. “
NHLRumors.com Note: After the Olympic break, Malkin had some choice comments about his contract extension. He didn’t seem happy about the lack of attention for the upcoming season, and that he had to wait until the end of the season. However, Malkin, his agent JP Barry, and Dubas would meet following March’s loss to the New York Rangers regarding Malkin’s future with the Penguins.
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After serving his five-game suspension for Buffalo Sabers senior guard Rasmus Dahlin, Malkin felt better about his ongoing contract negotiations than he did two weeks ago.
“(Dubas) told me to wait for the summer,” Malkin told reporters following the Penguins’ 7-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. “I’m fine with that. There’s 15 games left, and I’m hoping for the playoffs. I just want to play. He asked me if I wanted to play next year. I said yes, and he said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll talk after the season.’ You know, I’m fine. I mean, I feel great. I also want to play next year, maybe two years, who knows. It’s just business.”
Evgeni Malkin does not want to retire; he never said he wanted to start the season. He wanted the season to play out before making a decision. It is clear that he wants to finish his career as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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