Penguins center Evgeni Malkin expected to miss 'at least' first 2 months of season

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is expected to miss a minimum of two months to open the 2021-22 regular season as he recovers from offseason surgery on his right knee.

General manager Ron Hextall spoke with the media on the opening day of his team’s training camp in Cranberry and offered an update on Malkin.

“Malkin is not going to play for at least the first two months,” Hextall said Thursday. “That’s where we’re at right now. We’re not fully done with the stuff with the (doctors), but that’s what we expect right now. A minimum of two months.”

It was the first update the team has offered on any semblance of a time frame for his recovery.

Typically the Penguins’ second-line center, Malkin missed much of the 2020-21 season after being initially injured on March 16. During the postseason, he appeared in four games and scored five points (one goal, four assists). He underwent surgery quickly after the Penguins were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by New York Islanders in late May.

Hextall offered a few other updates:

• The team’s other franchise center, Sidney Crosby, did not participate in the opening day of camp as he recovers from surgery on his left wrist.

He has been skating with a strength and conditioning coach, however.

“Sid’s been skating pretty much every day,” Hextall said. “He’s not handling the puck … he’s ‘one-handling’ with the puck. But everything is going well. He’s skating hard. He’s right on the timeline that we gave there, the minimum of six weeks is what we (expect).”

Crosby underwent surgery on his chronically injured wrist Sept. 8.

• According to Hextall, one unidentified player in the organization has not yet been fully vaccinated.

“We have one player at the moment that we expect to be fully vaccinated the next few weeks,” Hextall said. “Other than that, we’re all good.”

Hextall declined to identify the player when asked.

• Discussions on potential contract extensions for Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang, forward Bryan Rust and other players entering the final years of their current deals are ongoing.

Hextall did not offer any specifics on those negotiations.

“We’ve been talking but nothing to report at this time,” Hextall said. “So we’ll keep chipping away.”

• Forward Filip Hallander, one of the top prospects in the organization, was absent from the first day of camp. Coach Mike Sullivan labeled his absence as a “maintenance day.”

The 21-year-old Hallander, a second-round pick (No. 58 overall) in 2018 is seen as a candidate for a spot on the NHL roster to open the season.

Another forward prospect, Raivis Ansons, is sidelined due to an undisclosed injury. Ansons, 19, was a fifth-round pick (No. 149 overall) is unsigned and is expected to return to his junior team, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) this season.

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