On Evgeni Malkin’s birthday, looking at the 40+ year olds to play for the Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 27: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins arrives prior to the game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Five of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 27, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty ImagesHappy birthday to Evgeni Malkin! He goes ‘over the hill’ today, celebrating his 40th birthday. The star forward has re-signed for next season and will join a select club of seven players of quadragenarians as Pittsburgh Penguins. Let’s take a look back at them all.Tim HortonThe name synonymous with coffee these days got his pro start with the Pittsburgh Hornets in 1949 in the AHL. Horton came full circle, playing the 1971-72 season with the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring two goals and adding nine assists in 44 games from his blueline position at age 41/42 following a January birthday. Horton would die in 1974 in a single car accident traveling solo back from an NHL game at the age of 44, the restaurant he founded has lived on.Ken SchinkelAn original Penguin, Schinkel joined the team for their inaugural 1967-68 season nearing the age of 35. He would stick around through 1972-73 as one of the club’s better players in the early years. Schnikel turned 40 early into the 1972-73 season, his final in the pros. He scored 11 goals and had 21 points in 42 games, while also stepping into the role of coach of the Penguins for the latter half of the 1972-73 season. Schnikel had a few years off after that and had a one-season coaching stint with the Pens in 1976-77.Joe MullenHall of famer Slippery Rock Joe turned 40 in late February 1997, his final season in the NHL. He returned to the Pens for 1996-97 after one year in Boston, having played previously for Pittsburgh from 1991-95. Mullen scored 22 points (7G+15A) in his final NHL year, the majority of it played as a 39-year old. He did play one playoff game in 1997 for his final NHL game, so he counts as playing a handful of games as a 40+ year old.Mario LemieuxLe Magnifique had a modest and short 40+ portion of his illustrious career. Lemieux celebrated his big birthday in October 2005, he would be retired by that December with the discovery of a heart condition. Lemieux still managed to put up 22 points (7G+15A) in 26 games during his partial final season before hangin’ ‘em up for good and turning the on-ice portion of the franchise over to a then-rookie named Sidney Crosby that he briefly shared the ice with.Mark RecchiRecchi signed with the Penguins for 2007-08, the year he was turning 40 in February. However, he never played for the Pens past his 40th birthday. The tail-end of his career was worth a mention, despite not meeting the premise of actually being a 40+ year old Penguin. After a slow start in 2007-08 (two goals in 19 games), Pittsburgh waived Recchi in December 2007. Back then there were re-entry waivers coming back from AHL -> NHL for vets and Atlanta plucked Recchi away, ending his Pittsburgh playing career for good. It looked like Recchi was out of gas at the end of 2007, but amazingly he got his career back on track for a tremendous ending scoring 40 points in 53 games with Atlanta, then scored 61 total points between TB/BOS in 2008-09. Recchi would stay in Boston for two more years, scoring 43 and 48 points through the 2010-11 season. He went out a 2011 Stanley Cup champion with the Bruins, retiring after scoring 14 points in 25 playoff games as an important part of their Cup team, even at 43-years old.Gary RobertsThe cult hero and early blogosphere legend Gary Roberts joined the Pens near the 2007 trade deadline already as a 40 year old. Roberts scored 20 goals and 42 points in 2006-07 combined between Florida and Pittsburgh. Roberts would be back for one more season in Pittsburgh, turning 42 shortly before the Pens’ SCF elimination to Detroit in 2008. Injuries limited him to only 15 points (3G+12A) in 38 regular season games, plus four more points (2G+2A) in 11 games, but his training and work ethic left a major impact on a young core of players. (Roberts would go onto sign with Tampa for 2008-09 as a 42-year old, but only played 30 games that season for them before retiring).Matt CullenPerhaps the prototypical grizzled vet, Cullen signed with the Pens at age 39 for 2015-16 and helped the team win the Stanley Cup. He was back again for 2016-17, turning 40 early in the campaign, having enough gas left in the tank to produce 31 points (13G+18A) in 72 games, and nine points (2G+7A) in another Stanley Cup winning effort. Cullen signed with his hometown Minnesota Wild for 2017-18 (scoring 22 points in 79 games) and the book appeared to be closed — until he came back to Pittsburgh for his age-42 season in 2018-19, where he put up 20 points in 71 games in his final season and became the oldest player to skate for the Penguins.Marc-Andre FleuryFleury capped off his career with one preseason game for the Penguins September 2025 at the age of 40. Does that completely count? Maybe not, but considering who it is, it’s worth the mention. The franchise’s most important goalie that holds all the netminding records left Pittsburgh in 2017 after being picked No. 1 overall in 2003 and having a part in three Stanley Cups. He’d go onto have a nice second chapter of his career, helping Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year and winning the Vezina trophy in 2021 before wrapping up with stops in Chicago and Minnesota.—That’s the club Malkin will be joining as the seventh member of being a 40+ year old Penguin to play a regular season game. Malkin could soon have some company. Kris Letang is still under contract for 2027-28, when he will be 40. Sidney Crosby, unsigned as of now, would also be 40 if he decides to play another season after this year.For now, Malkin will have a pretty good shot at setting the record for most points in a season as a 40+ year old Penguin, with Cullen’s 31 points currently leading the pack, some of which he scored during the season before his big birthday. Overall, Roberts had the best 40+ season with 20 goals and 42 points, the majority of which he recorded in a Panther jersey before getting traded to the Pens.