The three Stanley Cup rings earned by Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin were stolen during a home break-in Saturday, according to Jennifer Borrasso, Mike Darnay and Patrick Damp of KDKA in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins issued a statement confirming Malkin was the victim of a burglary:
The incident happened on the same day the team suffered a 5-0 home loss to the Ottawa Senators. Malkin didn't play because of an upper-body injury.
Malkin told The Athletic's Rob Rossi and Alex Andrejev that nobody was home at his residence in Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania, at the time of the break-in. He also confirmed his Stanley Cup rings were missing.
The 38-year-old helped Pittsburgh lift the trophy during the 2008-09, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, playing a key role in all three title runs. He was the Conn Smythe winner in 2009 after tallying 14 goals and 22 assists in 24 games.
The burglary at Malkin's home comes as athletes across multiple sports have been targeted in similar incidents in recent months. Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić and Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin have all been targeted.
Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin of ABC News reported in December the FBI had issued a report outlining how a group might be deliberately targeting professional athletes
"These homes are targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches and cash," the FBI said.
The Bureau also said the alleged theft rings are capable of bypassing security systems and uses jammers to disrupt any Wi-Fi signals.
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