'I Hope We Play Together One More Year': Malkin Wants Another Year, Pittsburgh Or Not

During the Pittsburgh Penguins' locker cleanout day on Friday, one of their longtime stars addressed some of the uncertainty concerning his future with the organization.

Evgeni Malkin, 40, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and as of now, he does not have a new contract for next season. He and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas plan to meet before Malkin heads home to Russia for the summer, but in the meantime, he addressed the Pittsburgh media Friday for what could be his final time in a Penguins' uniform.

Malkin - drafted second overall in 2004 - has spent all 20 of his NHL seasons with the Penguins, and, for the first time, there seems to be some uncertainty about his future in Pittsburgh. With the direction the Penguins are headed in terms of getting younger - and him turning 40 this summer - it remains unclear whether or not Dubas will re-sign Malkin, who has amassed 533 goals and 1,407 points in his NHL career and was above point-per-game for the first time in three years this season.

Even if Dubas and the Penguins have not yet come to a decision regarding Malkin, it's clear what Malkin wants, as it has been for a long time and after 20 years of playing with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.

"Now I want more, you know?" Malkin said. "It's different emotion when you play playoffs. Fans are crazy. First game against Philly, in warmup, it's probably, like, 18,000 already here. Again, yeah, I want to play again, for sure. It’s special two guys for me. Love to play together. And yeah, we're not happy we lost, but we try to fight every game. But sometimes, you're losing.

"But again, these are two special guys. I hope we play together one more year. But if not, I have great 20 years together. And never forget."