Ryan Malone

Pittsburgh Penguins

Malone was drafted in the fourth round, 115th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Malone as a member of the Penguins

Malone was born near Pittsburgh, where he attended Upper St. Clair High School in suburban Pittsburgh for two years. He played hockey during his junior year at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, a school later attended by Zach Parise and Sidney Crosby. During his senior year, Malone played with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL and attended Millard North High School.

Malone was drafted shortly after graduating high school, and went on to play at St. Cloud State University for four seasons. Malone played 3 games of the 2002–03 AHL season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after his last season at St. Cloud State. He played 81 games of his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2003–04 season. Malone finished third on the team in scoring behind Dick Tärnström and Aleksey Morozov. Malone did not play with the Penguins again until the 2005–06 season, spending time during the 2004–05 lockout in Finland, Italy and Switzerland.

Playing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi during the 2006–07 season, Malone notched his first four-point NHL game on December 13, 2006, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Two days later, he scored his first NHL hat trick, against the New York Islanders. With this feat, Malone and his father became only the second father-son duo in NHL history to score hat-tricks for the same team, along with Ken Hodge, Sr. and Ken Hodge, Jr.^[1]

Malone achieved another career oddity against the Islanders on February 19, 2007, when he recorded his second career hat trick by scoring a goal in the first minute of all three periods.^[2]

In January 2008, Malone and defenceman Darryl Sydor were named as alternate captains for the Penguins, following the departure of Mark Recchi and a long-term injury to Gary Roberts.

In game one of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Niklas Kronwall checked Malone and broke his nose. In game five, he took a Hal Gill slapshot in the face, opening a gash on his cheek and damaging his nose again. He returned for the rest of the game.^[3]

Tampa Bay Lightning

Malone as a member of the Lightning

On June 28, 2008, the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired exclusive negotiation rights with Malone and Gary Roberts from the Penguins for a third-round draft pick in 2009. One day later, the Lightning signed Malone to a seven-year contract worth $31.5 million, which paid him $6 million for the first season. Roberts then signed a one-year deal the next day.^[4]

On January 1, 2010, Malone was named to the United States Olympic ice hockey team, and went on to win a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

On April 11, 2014, Malone was arrested for DUI and cocaine possession in Tampa, FL.^[5] The arrest occurred with one game left in the regular season.

On June 25, 2014, the Tampa Bay Lightning exercised their final compliance buyout to buy out the final year of Malone's contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.^[6]

On August 18, 2014, Malone pleaded no contest to the charges stemming from his arrest in April.^[7]

New York Rangers

On September 11, 2014, the New York Rangers announced they had signed Malone to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000.^[8] On November 2, 2014, the Rangers placed Malone on waivers.^[9] Due to an injury to Mats Zuccarello, the Rangers were able to avoid an emergency call-up and use Malone for another game. The Rangers had 30 days before Malone must be placed on waivers again.^[10] On November 10, 2014, Malone was officially assigned to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. In six games with the Rangers, Malone recorded six shots on goal and was credited with 14 hits.^[11]

On February 3, 2015 the New York Rangers placed Malone on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, after Malone told the team he was no longer interested in playing.^[12] He cleared waivers on February 4, and his contract was terminated, making him a free agent.

Return to ice hockey

On August 31, 2017, Malone signaled a comeback to professional ice hockey in signing a PTO agreement with the Minnesota Wild to attend training camp. Malone last played professional hockey during the 2014–15 season, but opted to return with hope of making the U.S. Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Olympics.^[13] After a successful camp with the Wild, Malone was released from his try-out and joined AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild on a PTO to begin the 2017–18 season on October 5, 2017.^[14] He played in 12 games with Iowa, collecting two assists, before he was released after missing selection to the Olympic team on December 21, 2017.

Arrest

On April 12, 2014, Malone was arrested by Tampa police and charged with driving under the influence and cocaine possession after he was pulled over in an early-morning traffic stop when police allegedly saw him make a left turn from the center lane and strike a curb. According to the arrest report, Malone had 1.3 grams of cocaine in a pocket. He was released from jail after posting a $2,500 bond.^[17] On May 1, 2014, Malone's attorney, Wes Trombley, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. Currently, Malone is being evaluated by the NHL and the players union for substance abuse, while awaiting a trial date to be set.^[18]

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004	United States	WC			9	3	0	3	2
2006	United States	WC	7th		7	2	2	4	12
2010	United States	OG			6	3	2	5	6
Senior totals					22	8	4	12	20