Malkin signs 8-year deal with Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have both of their superstar centers under contract long term after announcing an eight-year, $76 million extension with Evgeni Malkin on Thursday. Team captain Sidney Crosby signed a 12-year contract extension last June. The eight-year contract, which carries an annual average value of $9.5 million, is the maximum length for teams re-signing their own players under terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. According to reports, Malkin received a $10 million signing bonus with the new deal. The extension kicks in at the start of the 2014-15 season. Malkin still has one season remaining at $8.7 million on his previous contract.

"We are a group who has won the Stanley Cup before," Malkin said Thursday. "I believe we will win again. There are good people. Good guys."

Malkin battled injuries this season but still finished with nine goals and 33 points in 31 games. He added four goals and 16 points in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games, as the Penguins made the Eastern Conference Final before getting swept by the Boston Bruins. Two seasons ago, Malkin scored a career-high 50 goals with 109 points and won his first Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. He has eclipsed 100 points three times in his career, including a high of 113 during the 2008-09 season, and won the Art Ross Trophy as the League's top scorer twice. Malkin, who turns 27 on July 31, has 217 goals and 560 points in 458 regular season games. He was the second pick in the 2004 NHL Draft behind fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin. Malkin won the Conn Smythe as the Penguins captured the Stanley Cup in 2009, putting up 14 goals and 36 points in 24 games. He has 36 goals and 97 points in 83 postseason contests.