He played with the Colorado Avalanche, with whom he was drafted, the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Malone left home at age 15 to begin his hockey career at Cushing Academy, a small prep school located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.

He was selected as the club's winner of the Josef Vasicek Award for cooperation with the local media by the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association In the 2015–16 season, Malone played in 57 games, recording two goals and six assists for eights points.

Malone for a second consecutive year led the Hurricanes in penalty minutes, which included 9 fighting majors, placing second amongst the club with 142 hits.

At the conclusion of his contract with the Hurricanes, Malone left as a free agent and signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Washington Capitals on July 2, 2016.

[10] After attending the Capitals 2016 training camp, Malone failed to make the club's opening night roster and was waived and reassigned to begin the 2016–17 season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears.

Used in multiple roles in the Bears lineup, Malone responded offensively with 20 points in 52 games before he was included by the Capitals to the St. Louis Blues in a package deal in exchange for Kevin Shattenkirk and Pheonix Copley on February 27, 2017.