he returned to the lineup following his suspension, after he responded to jeers by waving obscene gestures at fans which prompted louder jeers. When asked about it, Malakhov lashed out at the team's fans for his reaction. Malakhov, who was slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, was traded to the New Jersey Devils weeks later. On December 19, 2005, reports surfaced that Malakhov, who joined the Devils for the second time, had unexpectedly retired from the NHL. However, shortly after the story broke, his agent claimed that Malakhov had not retired and was taking a leave of absence "to deal with some internal, personal and medical issues." This claim was disputed by Lou Lamoriello, Devils CEO, president, general manager, and interim head coach. Lamoriello rejected the request for a leave of absence and treated Malakhov's absence as a retirement. This marked the end of Malakhov's pro career. Achievements Olympic Bronze Medal (2002) 1999–2000 Stanley Cup (New Jersey) NHL All-Rookie Team (1993) Olympic Gold Medal (1992) Career statistics Regular season and playoffs International References External links 1968 births Living people Battle of the Blades participants Capital District Islanders players HC CSKA Moscow players HC Spartak Moscow players Ice hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Montreal Canadiens players New Jersey Devils players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players New York Rangers players Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team Olympic ice hockey players of Russia Olympic ice hockey players of the Unified Team Sportspeople from Yekaterinburg Philadelphia Flyers players Russian ice hockey defencemen Soviet ice hockey defencemen Stanley Cup champions Triple Gold Club Olympic medalists in ice hockey Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Russian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Russian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Russian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada