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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNSep 16, 2024, 12:00 PM ET
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Sidney Crosby has signed a new two-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins, ending months of speculation about his future.
Crosby is in the final season of a 12-year contract. The new deal starts in the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2026-27 season, when Crosby will be 39 years old.
The contract carries an annual average value of $8.7 million against the NHL salary cap. It’s the same cap hit he has carried on two previous contracts of five and 12 years, and a numerological nod to his birthday (8/7/87) and his jersey number. His contract extension earns him a base salary of $780,000 with a $9 million signing bonus in 2025-26 and a $1.09 million salary and a $6,530,000 signing bonus in 2026-27. The contract carries a full no-movement clause.
The Penguins have re-signed captain Sidney Crosby to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2026-27 season and carries an average annual value of $8.7 million. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Crosby and his representatives had been discussing the shape of this contract for a while, knowing that he had one year left on his current deal. Some speculated the term would be shorter, others speculated it could be in the range of four years with an average value over $10 million. But Crosby landed on two years and $8.7 million AAV as a deal that allows the Penguins flexibility in the short and long term — while acknowledging that Crosby, while still productive, is in the twilight of his NHL career.
“You don’t really know the trajectory of everything and how you’re going to feel mentally, physically. I think that when you get to this point, you understand that’s more of a reality with every year you play. But I think you just kind of check in with that through the year, every year, and evaluate it,” Crosby recently told the Penguins’ website.
The Penguins’ captain has led his team to three Stanley Cup championships, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2016 and 2017. He’s won the Hart Trophy as NHL regular-season MVP twice. Crosby is first among active players in career points with 1,596, the 10th highest total in NHL history.
Crosby had 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points last season in Pittsburgh. He has played to over a point-per-game pace in all 19 seasons in the NHL. Crosby is entering his franchise-record 20th season in a Penguins uniform and 18th with the C on his sweater, trailing only Detroit’s Steve Yzerman (19) as the longest-tenured captain in NHL history.
“There are no words to properly describe what Sidney Crosby means to the game of hockey, the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins organization,” said Penguins GM Kyle Dubas 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 has said he believes the Penguins can still win a Stanley Cup with a veteran core that includes center Evgeni Malkin and defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. Pittsburgh has missed the playoffs for two straight seasons and hasn’t advanced past the first round of the NHL postseason since 2018.
