According to reports, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has been in talks with KHL teams about playing in Russia if there is a NHL lockout.
Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Malkin’s agent, J.P. Barry, says Malkin has spoken with Metallurg Magnitogorsk and unnamed teams in Moscow. According to Molinari, Malkin would sign a “week-to-week” contract should the league lock out the players on Sept. 15.
Malkin played with Magnitogorsk, his hometown team, for three seasons before joining the Penguins in 2006-07.
The 26-year-old scored 50 goals and a career-high 109 points last season to capture his second Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the league’s leading scorer, as well as the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player.
Malkin has 208 goals and 319 assists, totaling 527 career points, in 427 career NHL games, all with the Penguins.