Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is expecting Evgeni Malkin to have a bounce back season after seeing a dip in production last year. 

"My expectation is for him to be one of the top players in the league," Rutherford told NHL.com. "He got off to a great start last year but his play dropped off a little bit as the season went along. I've talked to him and [head coach Mike Sullivan] went and met with him in the summer. He looks great. He's anxious to get going, so no concerns. He'll be the Evgeni Malkin we expect.

"When I saw him, I said hello and asked about the meeting that [Mike] had with him earlier in the summer, about his preparation for what he was doing in the off-season and the expectations. It's my understanding the meeting went very well."

Malkin, who scored 21 goals and posted 72 points in 68 games last season, called his year a "failure" in a Russian interview in May. He added one goal and three points in four playoffs games as the Penguins were swept by the New York Islanders in the first round.

The 32-year-old centre is signed for three more seasons at a $9.5 million cap hit and was involved in trade speculation after the season. Instead, the Penguins made several other changes in the off-season, including trading Phil Kessel.

"You don't replace Phil, for what he did for us," Rutherford said. "Over the years he was here, he was an impact player that could change the game at any time and was a major factor in us winning the Stanley Cup twice (2016, 2017). Certainly, to have a younger player of (Alex) Galchenyuk's ability, who's already scored 30 goals, between what he does and some of the other changes we've made, we can make up for Phil not being here."

The Penguins, who also traded defenceman Olli Maatta this summer, added forwards Brandon Tanev and Dominik Kahun to their roster and will be chasing their 14th straight playoff berth this season.

"We made the changes that we needed to make, bring in some new energy and we feel good about it," Rutherford said. "The closer we get to camp, I see a lot more excitement not only in the players but the coaching staff and everybody in the organization, and that's really what we need."