Evgeni Malkin wants one more NHL season, even if it’s not with the Penguins

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Three years ago, Evgeni Malkin told The Athletic he couldn’t retire until he returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs with Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and the Pittsburgh Penguins.It just happened, thanks in part to Malkin’s bounce-back season. So, is he satisfied?“Now I want more,” Malkin said at the Penguins’ locker room cleanup day on Friday.And so begins Malkin’s summer. A franchise icon and surefire Hockey Hall of Famer who turns 40 in July, the center-turned-winger also becomes an unrestricted free agent that month.What happens next?“I want to play in the NHL,” Malkin said. “It’s not easy for Kyle (Dubas, Penguins president/general manager). Maybe he wants new blood here. I understand it’s a business. He wants maybe (a) new team, new faces here.”Malkin said he’d like nothing more than to return for another year alongside his close friends, Crosby and Letang.“These two are special guys,” he said. “I hope we play together one more year. If not, we’ve had a great 20 years together. I’ll never forget it.”Playing in the postseason again, Malkin said, was a thrill.“It’s a different emotion when you play in the playoffs,” he said. “The fans were crazy. First game against Philly, in