The 35-year-old defenseman, who
agreed to a six-year, $36.6 million contract
($6.1 million average annual value) Thursday before attending the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre in his hometown, said he'd love to see the Penguins sign the 35-year-old center before he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 13.
"[Malkin] was really happy," Letang said of the text Malkin sent to congratulate him Thursday. "I kind of said, 'I hope you get this done soon so we keep it all together.' … It was more of a contract to fit both parties: give a chance to the Penguins to sign other players and also based on performance and what I did in the last few years. Make sure we can still compete and win and not take a big chunk."
Malkin also replied to the Penguins Instagram post after the Letang news, indicating he would also like to finish his NHL career on the same team.
"I hope I don't have to play against you @kletang_58," Malkin said on Instagram with a laughing face emoji.
The trio of Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh's 34-year-old captain, Malkin and Letang has won the Stanley Cup three times together (2009, 2016, 2017). The Penguins, with that core, have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 16 straight seasons, the longest active streak among teams in the major North American professional sports leagues, but also lost in the opening round of the past four postseasons.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who led them to their two most recent championships, says it's important for the organization to keep the core intact and find other ways to improve the roster after being eliminated by the New York Rangers with a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Madison Square Garden on May 15.
"I'm optimistic," Sullivan said of Malkin re-signing. "I think these guys mean so much to the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins. The legacy that they've built speaks for itself. These guys are getting a little older, but they're not old, and I think there's a big difference. There's still elite play in these guys, and so, for me, I've never been around a better core."
Letang, selected by the Penguins in the third round (No. 62) in the 2005 NHL Draft, has played all 16 of his seasons with Crosby and Malkin. Letang agrees there are multiple reasons they can get back to the top of the NHL.
"There's two big names, one hopefully soon that will be extended," Letang said of Crosby and his hope of Malkin re-signing. "But when you have those two guys -- a leader like Sid -- everything's possible."
Sullivan, the NHL's second-longest tenured coach (seven seasons) behind Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning (10 seasons), has helped Pittsburgh qualify for the playoffs in each of his seasons there. Sullivan said general manager Ron Hextall is working daily to keep the window open for the Penguins' core.
"In a salary cap world, there's not a lot of perfect teams out there. Every team has their strengths and every team has their weaknesses, and we're no different in that regard," Sullivan said. "I know [Hextall] is doing his very best to surround our core guys with the best possible group that we can that gives us the best chance to win."
