Evgeni Malkin's time is up in Pittsburgh.

It seems as though the Pittsburgh Penguins are finally pulling the plug on their version of the "Big 3."

On Monday, Penguins insider Josh Yohe dropped a bombshell when he revealed that Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin was playing in his final season as a Penguin, one way or another. According to Yohe, should Malkin wish to continue playing beyond the term of his current contract with the Penguins, he will have to seek employment elsewhere.

From Yohe:

While it remains unclear if future Hall of Fame center will retire following the 2025-26 season, the Penguins are not expected to offer him another contract with the franchise, sources within the organization said.

In the summer of 2022 the Penguins made the decision to keep their Big 3 of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang together moving forward, signing Malkin to a 4 year contract at an average annual value and cap hit of $6.1 million per season at that time. Malkin will be entering the final year of that deal in the 2025-26 National Hockey League season and it would seem that the only paths forward beyond that point are either free agency or retirement given Yohe's report.

It has become clear that Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is attempting to steer the organization towards a more successful future, with the Penguins current core group of players no longer realistically considered a serious Stanley Cup contender.

All that being said there is no question that Malkin has had an incredibly successful career in the NHL and as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins selected Malkin in the first round (2nd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and since then he has been a dominant force in their lineup, appearing in a whopping 1213 NHL games and recording 514 goals and 832 assists for a total of 1346 points over that period of time. Malkin is also of course a 3 time Stanley Cup champion, having won all 3 of his Cups as a member of the Penguins.

Make mention of "Geno" in the city of Pittsburgh and everyone will instantly recognize that you are talking about the legendary Penguins forward, one who will unquestionably go down in history as one of the greatest Penguins to have ever played the game and one that will certainly be enshrined forever in the hockey hall-of-fame.

Only time will tell if Malkin will retire a Penguin or will seek to continue playing elsewhere after this upcoming season, but I for one struggle to imagine him wearing any other colors than the ones he has worn for the better part of the last 20 years.