Penguins provide update on Crosby and Malkin, both out long term

A disastrous start to the season for the Penguins.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Penguins provide update on Crosby and Malkin, both out long term
Zuma Press

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that superstar forward Evgeni Malkin will miss at least the first two months of the 2021-22 season due after having offseason knee surgery.


Of course, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is also on the injured reserve as he recovers from a wrist surgery. He's expected to be out of the lineup for approximately two weeks to a month from the start of the season.


Having both Malkin and Crosby out of the lineup to start the season is NOT good news for the Penguins, to say the least.

As Sid and Geno go, so to do the Penguins. As much as you may like players like Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and Kasperi Kapanen, these aren't the type of players you build an entire team around... Sid and Geno are. It'll be interesting to see if the Pens can weather the storm at least until Crosby gets back. Because while he has obviously missed significant time due to injury in his career, he's actually been pretty durable the past few seasons. Sure, he has time but Malkin is the one whose absence has been felt the most.

Malkin managed eight goals and 28 points in just 33 games with the Penguins last season before he suffered a knee injury in March. That injury cost him the final six weeks of the regular season and the first two games of his team's Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup against the New York Islanders. He had surgery immediately following the Pens' elimination at the hands of the Islanders and has been recovering ever since.

At 35 years old and 34 years old respectively and with two major surgeries this offseason, you have to have real concern for Malkin, Crosby and the entire Penguins roster heading into an important season. While the names 'Malkin' and 'Crosby' still carry a ton of cache and the two superstars remain productive even in their mid 30s... well you have to wonder how long it will be until the well runs dry? I'm by no means saying that these two stars are cooked, but it's rare for a 35 year old and a 34 year old fresh off of surgery to come into a season mid-campaign and go on to dominate the NHL. Nervous, Pens fans?