When Evgeni Malkin was growing up in Magnitogorsk, Russia, he wrote an essay titled ‘My Dream.’
“My greatest dream is to become a famous hockey player, to play well, and be written about in the newspaper. My dream is another: to play abroad. My favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings.
I want to have a car, beautiful home and beloved family. I am not allowed to have a dog, but abroad I would have a beautiful dog.
I would like to remain the captain, as I am now. I dream of traveling to other cities and seeing the whole world. See how other people live, their activities. First of all, when I come abroad, I will run to McDonald’s.
I dream of playing for the strongest team. My team will have a symbol: a wing. This is probably a very huge dream, but why not give it a try.”
It’s remarkable how many of those have come true after Malkin was drafted second overall in 2004 by the Pittsburgh Penguins – a team whose mascot has two wings.
Malkin’s latest accomplishment came on Dec 27 when he tallied twice in a 7-0 win over the New York Islanders to give him the second-most goals among Russian-born skaters in NHL history with 484, passing Sergei Fedorov – his childhood idol.
Malkin loved watching Fedorov in his prime during the 1990s while playing for those excellent Red Wings teams as part of the Russian Five, which also included Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov, Slava Fetisov, and Igor Larionov.
“First of all, I want to say in my mind, I think he’s the best Russian player of all time,” Malkin said. “He’s a really good skater, he’s really smart. Looking good, white Nikes, you know? (laughs) Everybody loves. He plays D zone, he wins faceoffs, he’s a complete player. It’s fun to watch, you know?”
Like Fedorov, Malkin has won three Stanley Cups – tied with Larionov and Sergei Brylin for the most-ever by a Russian-born player – along with a league MVP (Hart Trophy) and most outstanding player as voted by his peers (Ted Lindsay Award). Malkin has also captured two scoring titles (Art Ross Trophy), a playoff MVP (Conn Smythe Trophy), and rookie of the year (Calder Trophy). In addition to being second behind Alex Ovechkin in goals, Malkin also ranks second in points (1,258) after his countryman (1,505).
But despite everything he’s accomplished, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Mike Sullivan all said independently of each other that they feel like Malkin hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves for the body of work he’s put together, and the elite level of play he continues to sustain at 37 years old.
“Sometimes, you look back at old highlights and Fedorov was a pretty dominant player back in the day with the Red Wings, with all those guys. To see Geno beat him and pass him, it's pretty special. I mean, people don't talk enough about him and what he does for our team,” Letang said. “People are talking about Ovi a lot, they talk about (Connor) McDavid, they talk about (Nathan) MacKinnon. You don't hear Geno's name a lot, and what he's been able to do in this league for that long and at this age still, being the goal scorer that he is, he’s just special.”
This latest achievement is certainly a reminder of what Malkin is capable of.
“It’s really big for me, you know? I know it’s just numbers, but I want to say, like, I still can score. It’s huge for me,” said Malkin, who said he's okay with being a bit underappreciated "because I know I'm a good player. I know I help the team to win, still playing at a high level."
As Sullivan said, Malkin has made sacrifices to do just that, saying Geno’s hungrier than he’s ever been… just not for dessert.
“Not like before,” Malkin said with a laugh. “I feel it, I need to like, eat better and stay at the same weight. Because before, I feel some days I’m five pounds up, five pounds down. It’s pretty quick, but not what I want. I want the same (number) all year.”
That being said, Malkin still makes room for Crosby’s famous banana bread.
“He usually doesn’t turn that down,” the captain grinned. “But as you get older, there's a lot of things that you have to adjust. You still want to work hard and stay sharp, but a little thing like that may make a big difference. So, whatever gets him feeling good – but yeah, he's definitely not shying away from banana bread.”
Malkin’s regimen isn’t talked about quite as much compared to the other two members of the Big Three, which is something his mentor Sergei Gonchar brought up when talking about the Penguins superstar’s career and legacy ahead of his 1,000th game last season.
“Sometimes people think that he’s such a talent, everything comes easy to him. But I can tell you that he works hard to make sure he is good and he is still competing at that level,” Gonchar said. “That is now, and also when he was younger. Because he came to the league as a tall, skinny boy, you know? He is the guy who actually put in a lot of hours in the gym to become stronger.
“Now, he’s doing everything he can to keep up and play at the level that he's playing on. So, I think that part is sometimes overlooked by people.”
In addition to eating better, Malkin said he does a lot of recovery for his body, taking advantage of therapies and treatments available to him, especially “massage if something hurts.” He also tries to go to bed earlier and get more quality sleep.
That’s all from a physical standpoint. From a mental standpoint, Malkin said it’s important for him to try and keep an optimistic outlook, no matter what happens. It’s not always easy, especially recently, as his line had struggled to find consistency after a tremendous start to the season.
“Some games are not great, but I want to stay positive, not get frustrated, and take the right emotion, you know what I mean?” Malkin said.
That emotion has always been part of what makes Malkin so special. His competitive fire burns more brightly than most, and that hasn’t dimmed in the 18th season of his NHL career. His will and want to win is what Sullivan said he admires most about Malkin.
“I don't think that that changes, even over time. I think he's still got that fire, and he wants to be at his best all the time,” Crosby said. “So, I think that's something that's been the case since he came Day One, and he's continued to have that drive.”
Sullivan said he feels that Malkin took it personally the way last season ended, with Pittsburgh’s 16-year playoff streak coming to an end. He still wants to win, badly, and play a big part in helping this group do so. But Malkin, who signed a four-year contract in July 2022, also wants to make sure he enjoys every minute.
“It’s a long life on the ice, and I want the next two, three years to enjoy with team, enjoy life, and do whatever I can. I know I’m still a good player, you know what I mean? I want to do my best,” Malkin said. “Just very exciting what we’ve done, and very exciting what the future holds, because we have a great team. We fight every game, and I want to help the team to win. Stay positive, right emotion, support each other, and recover my body.”
As Sullivan said, every player reaches a point where the bulk of their career is behind them, and not in front of them. When that happens, you get the benefit of perspective, and don’t take things for granted as much compared to when there was a much longer runway ahead.
“You gain a certain level of appreciation for what you do and what we do every day, and the opportunity to play the game that we love. I think there's a sense of gratitude because of that,” Sullivan said. “So, I think players that reach those milestones – and Geno's played a long time, and he still has a lot of elite hockey in him – but I think that perspective just helps players gain another level of appreciation and gratitude for what we do every day.”
