He had just lost close friends Igor Korolev and Gennady Churilov in the KHL air disaster , and it was clear that his heart was still back home .
It had been an unbelievably trying off - season for Malkin .
Malkin had just lost close friends Igor Korolev and Gennady Churilov in the KHL air disaster , and it was clear that Malkin 's heart was still back home .
It had been an unbelievably trying off - season for Malkin .