Penguins injury news: no surgery for Evgeni Malkin

It's few and far between but the Pittsburgh Penguins actually got some good news regarding an injury. Evgeni Malkin will be avoiding the surgeons this summer and isn't expected to miss any time next season. From the team:

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin will not require surgery on his injured left elbow, it was announced today by general manager Jim Rutherford.

Malkin will undergo rehabilitation this summer and is not expected to miss any time.

Malkin was injured in March and was said to be out 6-8 weeks, but returned in 5 for the second game of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, playing in all 23 of the following games.

Last week in team breakdowns, Rutherford said he thought it was about "50-50" whether an MRI would reveal that Malkin would require what's known as "Tommy John" surgery to repair the elbow. It was unknown how long of a recovery that would have been (it takes pitchers over a year, but the Pens didn't expect that) but it would have been some for sure.

Avoiding surgery is always a good thing, hopefully Malkin is able to rest and rehab his way to 100% in time for next season. Good thing, now Malkin can be healthy and ready to be the target of more baseless trade rumors!