Whatever Penguins fans have been feeling in the past 24 hours since news broke that Evgeni Malkin was going to test the free dealership market and likely leave Pittsburgh, it was swept away late Tuesday night.
As midnight approaches Pittsburgh time, the Penguins have announced that they have reached an agreement on a new four-year contract with the Russian star that will likely keep him in Pittsburgh for the rest of his football career. The deal will carry an asset value of $6.1 million, matching Chris Letang’s new deal.
This marks the end of a tense negotiation period that began in May when the Penguins were eliminated from the playoffs. What looked like a wide open window for a new deal was slowly beginning to close and reports emerged on Monday that Malkin was moving toward free agency.
Even in the late afternoon of Tuesday, Malkin’s time in Pittsburgh seemed to be over, but at the eleventh hour, the two sides put all issues aside, got a deal and made the franchise icon a road for life.
There will be plenty to discuss about this deal and all the drama surrounding it from both sides, but for now, Penguins fans can easily sleep in the knowledge that Number 71 will remain in Pittsburgh where it absolutely belongs.
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