Metallurg Confirms Talks Over Malkin Return
Club director Alexei Zhloba says Metallurg weighed bringing Malkin home before he re-signed with Pittsburgh, calling the chances '50-50' at the time.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk director Alexei Zhloba has confirmed the club looked at bringing Yevgeni Malkin home over the summer, before the 40-year-old forward signed a one-year extension with Pittsburgh.
Zhloba said the club had rated the chances of Malkin returning at "50-50", and made clear the door has closed only for the current campaign, not necessarily beyond it.
He added that Metallurg remains in contact with Malkin, who came through the club's own academy, and that any fresh approach would depend on how the forward's relationship with Pittsburgh develops.
Zhloba also pointed to a wider problem facing KHL clubs: the growing difficulty of signing top players from North America and Europe, a topic tabled at the league's latest board meeting.
For now, that remains a question for next summer rather than this one.
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