The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed captain Sidney Crosby to a two-year contract extension, according to an announcement from the team. The deal will run through the 2026-27 season and carries an average-annual-value of $8.7 million.
“There are no words to properly describe what Sidney Crosby means to the game of hockey, the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins organization,” Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas said in a statement. “Sidney is the greatest player of his generation and one of the greatest players in the history of the game. His actions today show why he is one of hockey’s greatest winners and leaders. Sid is making a tremendous personal sacrifice in an effort to help the Penguins win, both now and in the future, as he has done for his entire career.”
Crosby’s current contract was slated to expire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
Crosby is set to embark on his 20th season with the Penguins after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft by the franchise. Over the course of his NHL career, Crosby’s long list of accolades includes leading the Penguins to three Stanley Cups, appearing in 10 All-Star Games, earning the Hart Trophy as league MVP on two occasions, and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP twice.
The Penguins star leads the franchise in games played (1,272), even-strength goals (416), even-strength points (1,025) and game-winning goals (90). Crosby ranks second in goals (592), assists (1,0004), and points (1,596), as he only trails Penguins legend Mario Lemieux in each of those categories.
Crosby is currently 10th in NHL history with 1,596 points (592 goals, 1,0004 assists) in 1,272 career games. During his career, he has averaged at least one point in each of his 19 professional seasons and is the only NHL player to achieve that feat along with Wayne Gretzky. Lemieux is the only player drafted No. 1 overall that has more career points than Crosby.
The Penguins center is coming off of a season in which he tallied 94 points (42 goals, 52 assists) while appearing in all 82 regular-season games. Pittsburgh has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Read the full article here
