Fighting through
Evgeni Malkin had surgery Monday for a lingering elbow issue.
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin and forward Zach Aston-Reese had successful postseason surgeries, the club announced Monday.
For Malkin, the surgery focused on his left elbow. According to a source, Malkin did not suffer the elbow injury in the Penguins’ qualifying-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, but rather it was something that was bothering him previously.
The recovery time frame for his specific surgery is three to four weeks, so it should not carry over into next season.
Aston-Reese, meanwhile, will likely be out at least at the beginning of next season. The rehab from left shoulder surgery is estimated to last about six months.
Aston-Reese, 26, has already endured a long list of injuries in his brief career, often setting him back just as he was beginning to establish a role. His medical history includes a broken jaw in the 2018 postseason at the hands of Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and a broken hand in 201819.
This year, he stayed healthy through the first 57 games to carve out a clear role on the left wing of the Penguins’ tight-checking fourth line, playing alongside center Teddy Blueger and right wing Brandon Tanev. He tallied a modest 13 points but was often part of a line that earned more defensive-zone starts than any other trio.
That line stayed together more than any other this season. But with AstonReese out to start next season and general manager
Jim Rutherford promising to make offseason changes, one of the few constants from 2019-20 might also change. When he returns, Aston-Reese will be on the final year of the extension he signed last offseason. It carries a $1 million average-annual value.
As for Malkin, he came into the first training camp in September looking to recapture his “highest level.”
“I can still play like a top player,” Malkin said in the preseason. “I want to show to everyone I’m not done.”
He did just that — at least in the regular season.
In 55 regular-season games, he racked up 25 goals and 49 assists to lead the Penguins with 74 points. On a per-game basis, only five players in the league were more productive than Malkin, who posted 1.35 points per game. The only season in which Malkin was more productive on a pergame basis was 2011-12, when he posted 1.45 points per game and won the Hart
Trophy.
Beyond just the offensive production, Malkin was playing some of his best twoway hockey of his career during the regular season and making better decisions with the puck. He went from a minus-25 rating in 2018-19 to plus-7. He also won 50.3% of his faceoffs, the best mark of his career.
His play helped buoy Bryan Rust, who enjoyed a career year with 27 goals in 55 games. During Sidney Crosby’s rehab from coremuscle surgery, Malkin was one of the main reasons the Penguins went 18-6-4.
When it came time for the postseason, however, the Penguins were missing a punch. Malkin tallied just one point in four games, as the fifth-seeded Penguins were stunned by the No. 12seeded Canadiens in the qualifying round.