Ever since Sidney Crosby came into the NHL, he and the Pittsburgh Penguins have gone hand in hand. The transition from Mario Lemieux to Sidney Crosby has been seamless.
Pittsburgh has been a steady Stanley Cup contender since 2008 until the present. However, since their most recent Stanley Cup in 2017, the second back-to-back, the Penguins have won one playoff series in 2018.
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Since then, the Penguins have lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four straight before missing the playoffs in 2023. One of those losses came at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 Play-In Stanley Cup Playoffs in the bubble.
The Penguins are an aging team; however, Sidney Crosby continues to defy the odds. Crosby can sign an extension on July 1st with the Pittsburgh Penguins. And there is no reason to believe he will not sign with the Penguins.
“Yeah,” Crosby told Rob Rossi of The Athletic. “I’ve said that forever. But right now, I’m trying to focus on getting into the playoffs.”
Crosby is putting together a Hart Trophy-type season for the Penguins. He is doing everything he can to will his team into the playoffs that sit eight points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
This season, in 54 games, he has recorded 56 points (31 goals and 25 assists). That is four points better than the injured Jake Guentzel, who is a target of trade conversations, and 13 points better than Evgeni Malkin.
There has been a lot of chatter, mostly from the media, about the future of Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh. While it is rare for a player to stay his entire career with one organization, Crosby is in that category. Now, everyone thought Wayne Gretzky would be an Edmonton Oiler for life. But Gretzky was traded close to his prime.
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Crosby is on the back end of his career and still defying the odds. He is still a high-end player in this league. The Penguins are clearly struggling and continue to play inconsistent hockey. It is becoming problematic. Regardless if he has the help or not.
The issue is for Crosby and the Penguins; if the team continues to struggle and he is an outstanding player, will the competitive edge take over for him to say he does not want to go through a rebuild and be on a lousy team for four years?
Remember, a big reason why Malkin and Kris Letang signed extensions was so that the trio could be Penguins for life. Regardless of what you think you know about the situation, Crosby cleared the air and said he had nothing to do with those guys re-signing.
And that is the situation now with Guentzel and the Penguins. Crosby knows Kyle Dubas is the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And while he is not thinking about an extension with the club just yet, you best believe those conversations are starting.
“I think they’ve discussed this with him. I find it very hard to believe just dealing with Dubis in Toronto as I did I have some idea of the way he prepares things, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on NHL Network. “I would be surprised if he hasn’t talked to Crosby already. If he hasn’t filled him in on what he’s thinking and how he thinks he’s going to get there. And I would bet that you know, for example, they can extend Crosby a year before his contract is up, which is not too far away. But you can’t extend them till July 1, the previous year, but you can talk to him.”
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While anything can happen, it is unlikely Crosby will leave Pittsburgh, and they know already what it will take to keep him, especially since he is eyeing the Olympics in 2026.
“I think the Penguins know exactly what it could look like if there’s an extension with Crosby,” Friedman continued. “And I believe that if the Penguins had reason to believe Crosby was unhappy, they would probably have a good inkling of that already.”
Again, the biggest concern for Crosby is helping his team win hockey games. However, unless something really changes, Sidney Crosby will be a Pittsburgh Penguin for life.