Evgeni Malkin

Malkin was born on 31 July 1986 in Magnitogorsk to Vladimir and Natalia Malkin. Vladimir worked for Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the largest iron and steel works in Russia and the city's dominant industry, and played in the Metallurg Magnitogorsk youth and club hockey system. Malkin has one brother, Denis, who is older by one year. Malkin began skating at age three. He joined his first organized hockey league two years later. He showed an aptitude for the sport at an early age, as one might expect from the son of a professional. However, because both of his parents were short, no one suspected Malkin would be a world-class athlete.

After his first professional season in Russia, Malkin was drafted second overall (behind national teammate Alexander Ovechkin) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, a transfer dispute between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) delayed his Pittsburgh debut. On 7 August 2006, it appeared the 20-year-old Malkin had come to a compromise with Metallurg and signed a deal that would have kept him in Russia until May 2007. However, Malkin stated he signed the one-year contract not as a compromise, but because of the immense "psychological pressure" his former club exerted on him. Desiring to play in the NHL, he left Metallurg Magnitogorsk's training camp in Helsinki before it began on 12 August. It would later appear the team had taken Malkin's passport away to prevent him from leaving, but it was eventually given back to him, and Malkin was allowed to pass through Finnish customs. Meeting with his agent, J. P. Barry, the two quickly departed and waited for Malkin's visa clearance from the U.S. Embassy.

Several months prior to his second and final U18 tournament, Malkin debuted at the under-20 level with Russia at the 2004 World Junior Championships. In his first of three tournament appearances, he contributed five points in six games but could not help Russia reach the podium. The following year, Malkin finished second in team scoring at the 2005 World Junior Championships to Alexander Ovechkin with ten points. Led by the duo of Malkin and Ovechkin (the two had also played together the previous year), Russia won the silver, losing to Canada in the gold medal game. Later in 2005, Malkin made his debut with the Russian men's team at the 2005 World Championships. Despite failing to score a goal in the tournament, Malkin contributed four assists to help Russia to a bronze medal in Vienna.

In order to legally leave the team, on 15 August, Malkin invoked via fax a law allowing him to cancel his one-year contract by giving his employer two weeks' notice. Having untied himself of obligations in Russia, he was able to sign an entry-level contract with the Penguins on 5 September 2006.

Following his first NHL game with Pittsburgh, on 19 October 2006, Malkin's former Russian hockey club filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NHL and the Penguins in the United States District Court for the southern district of New York. The lawsuit claimed Malkin should not be permitted to play in the NHL because he is still under contract in Russia. The claim also sought unspecified damages as well. The motion for an injunction was denied on 15 November 2006, ensuring Malkin would continue play in the NHL that season. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed on its merits by the District Court on 1 February 2007.

In his first pre-season game with the Penguins, on 20 September 2006, Malkin collided with teammate John LeClair and dislocated his own shoulder, which forced him to miss the start of the season. Subsequently, his NHL debut would be delayed until 18 October, against the New Jersey Devils, in which he scored his first goal against Martin Brodeur.

In 2006, Malkin did triple duty for Russia, competing in his third World Junior Championships, his first Winter Olympics and his second World Championships. He was named the top forward and MVP of the 2006 World Junior Championships in January, captaining Russia to a second straight silver medal and gold medal game loss to Canada. Less than two months later, Malkin was given one of the final spots on Team Russia for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he helped the team to a fourth-place finish with six points in seven games. Then in May, Malkin played in the 2006 World Championship, where he led Russia in team scoring with nine points.

In his sophomore season, Malkin recorded his first NHL hat-trick, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, on 3 January 2008. He earned another three-goal performance several games later, on 14 January, against the New York Rangers. Midway through the season, when more heralded teammate and captain Sidney Crosby went down with an ankle injury, Malkin seized the opportunity to lead the Penguins, scoring 44 points in the 28 games Crosby was absent. In total, Malkin completed the season second in NHL scoring with 106 points, six points behind Alexander Ovechkin for the Art Ross Trophy. Malkin continued to dominate into the Stanley Cup playoffs as the Penguins made it to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. He scored three points against the Detroit Red Wings in the finals, totaling 22 points overall, but the Penguins were defeated by Detroit in six games.

Malkin's sophomore season culminated in a Hart Memorial Trophy nomination as NHL MVP—the award was given to Ovechkin—and First Team All-Star honors. On 2 July 2008, with one year left in his entry-level contract, he signed a five-year, $43.5 million contract extension with Pittsburgh.

Malkin began the 2008–09 season by scoring his 200th NHL point with an assist to Sidney Crosby on 18 October 2008. The goal was also Crosby's 100th career goal and 300th career point. Crosby had a team trainer cut the puck in half so both players could commemorate the moment. Voted as a starter to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game later in the season, Malkin won the shooting accuracy segment of the Skills Competition, initially shooting four-for-four before beating Dany Heatley three-for-four in a tie-breaker. After having finished runner-up to Alexander Ovechkin the previous season for the Art Ross Trophy, Malkin captured the scoring championship with 113 points. He became the second Russian-born player to win it, after Ovechkin, and the fourth Penguin, after Mario Lemieux, Jaromír Jágr and Crosby. However, he would once again be runner-up to Ovechkin for the Hart Trophy, although this time garnering a few more first-place votes. In 2008, he had just one first-place vote (out of 134 votes) and 659 points to Ovechkin's 128 first-place votes and 1,313 points. In 2009, Malkin had 12 first-place votes (out of 133 votes) and 787 points to Ovechkin's 115 first-place votes and 1,264 points.

On 12 June 2009, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2–1 in Game 7 of the Finals. Malkin tallied 36 points (14 goals and 22 assists) to become the first player to lead both the regular season and playoffs in scoring since Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat in 1992. His 36 points were the highest playoff total of any player since Wayne Gretzky amassed 40 points in 1993. Malkin received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, becoming the first Russian-born and Asian-born player to do so. He is also just the second player in franchise history to win both the Art Ross and Conn Smythe trophies in the same year. The other Penguin to accomplish this feat was Hockey Hall of Famer and team co-owner/president Mario Lemieux (1992).

On 4 February 2011, after missing five games due to a left knee injury and sinus infection, Malkin returned to play against the Buffalo Sabres. At the start of the second period, Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers collided with Malkin against the end-boards, injuring his right knee. He was helped off the ice and went straight to the dressing room, unable to return to the game as he suffered both a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL). On 9 February, it was announced Malkin would undergo knee surgery. The Penguins estimated his recovery period as six months, sidelining him for the remainder of the 2010–11 season and playoffs, but stated he should be ready for training camp in September. According to then Penguins' general manager Ray Shero, Malkin sent him a text message after the incident occurred stating, "I'm sorry." In Shero's words, "I told him he had nothing to apologize for."

With the 2012–13 NHL season delayed due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Malkin went to Russia and played for Magnitogorsk, his former team, who had joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) since he last played there. By the time the lockout ended in early January, Malkin was second in KHL scoring with 23 goals and 65 points in 37 games. Though he missed the final part of the KHL season, he still finished third overall in scoring. A concussion and shoulder injuries limited Malkin to 31 games during the NHL season, rather than the 48 scheduled, in which he scored 33 points. In the 2013 playoffs, Malkin and the Penguins faced the New York Islanders in the first round, eliminating them in six games. Malkin had an excellent series, recording 2 goals and 11 points in the 6 games. In the next round, the Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators in five games, with Malkin scoring two more goals and five points. The Penguins were then swept in the conference finals against the Boston Bruins.The entire Penguins team was kept to two goals in the four-game series, with Malkin held off the scoresheet and posting a −5 plus-minus rating.

In 2014, Malkin was named to the 2014 Russian Olympic Ice Hockey Team. He played all six games for Russia as they finished fifth in the tournament after losing to Finland in the quarter-finals. Malkin had one goal and two assists by the end of the tournament.

Malkin became engaged to Russian television personality Anna Kasterova in November 2015. Six months later on 31 May 2016 their first child, a son was born.

In November 2017, Malkin announced his membership of the PutinTeam social movement, launched by compatriot and fellow NHLer Alexander Ovechkin in support of President of Russia Vladimir Putin during the 2018 Russian presidential election. Malkin stated, "We just try to offer our support because, in 2018, we have the World Cup in Russia; they have elections, too."

Happy Birthday Evgeni Malkin. Keep doing what you're doing

“My record is Cups. If I win one more Cup, it’s my record. I don’t think about points. It’s only team. It’s only win back to back.” – Evgeni Malkin, May 28…