from Dave Molinari of Pitsburgh Hockey New,

Evgeni Malkin’s fabled career with the Pittsburgh Penguins might be over.

Malkin, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, plans to test the market then, as talks for a new deal with the Penguins apparently reached a dead end.

Malkin’s intentions were confirmed by one of the parties in the negotiations for a new deal with the Penguins; the other did not immediately response to a request to discuss the situation.

Malkin, who has insisted that he wanted to spend his entire career here, still could re-sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins if he does not find something to his liking on the open market.

Malkin, who turns 36 this month, and the Penguins could not reconcile differences on a new contract. As the deadline neared, the Penguins appeared to be sticking to three years on their offer, and Malkin wanted either more money at that term or a fourth year to raise the overall contract value.

Malkin’s expiring contract carried an AAV of $9.5 million. He will be one of the biggest names on the free agent market.

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