Penguins' Evgeni Malkin Opens Up About Future

When speaking to reporters, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin stated that he plans to continue playing for at least three or four more seasons. Therefore, whether it's with the Penguins or elsewhere, the star center won't be hanging up the skates any time soon.

There may have some been concerns about Malkin contemplating retirement before this. The 35-year-old is in the final year of his eight-year, $76 million contract with Pittsburgh. Furthermore, he has dealt with a lot of injury trouble over the last few years. With that, he has yet to play this season due to having knee surgery during the offseason. However, he is now inching closer to his return and the Penguins need to be thrilled about that.

In 33 games last season with the Penguins, Malkin scored eight goals and recorded 28 points. His numbers were down for his standards, but his injury certainly can be blamed for that. Keep in mind, he just had a 74-point campaign in only 55 games the season before. If he can replicate those totals from here, the Penguins will be in excellent shape.

It will be intriguing to see if his wish comes true and he lasts in the league for that much longer. With that, although it's more likely than not that he will remain a Penguin, it isn't a slam dunk yet. We will have to wait and see what ends up occurring next summer.