MOSCOW, Jul 7 National Hockey League (NHL) Pittsburgh Penguins Club «made another contract offer to striker Evgeni Malkin and is close to signing a new agreement with defender Chris Letang, according to the official website of the NHL, citing general manager Ron Hextall. Malkin's agreement with Pittsburgh expires in July, he can become an unrestricted free agent. In 2013, the Russian signed a contract with Pittsburgh for 8 years starting from the 2014/15 season for a total of $76 million. Letang's eight-year, $58 million deal also expires in July. «We're still under contract with Yevgeny. We talked to him on Tuesday night. We'll see what happens. But I'll be surprised if we don't agree with Chris. We have there are a few details that we are working on,» Hextall said. Previously, the club offered hockey players two-year contracts, both players refused them, then Pittsburgh increased the period to three years. It is assumed that Malkin and Letang want to get contracts for a period of at least four years. Malkin is 35 years old, he was selected by Pittsburgh in the 2004 draft in the first round under the general second number. He played 981 NHL games with the Penguins, scoring 1,146 points (444 goals + 702 assists). In the past regular season in 41 games, Malkin scored 20 goals and gave 22 assists.
