Sidney Crosby is not going anywhere any time soon.
Despite having just one more year remaining on his current deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby recently told The Athletic’s Josh Yohe that his contract status is not related to how much longer he wants to extend his legendary career. Crosby just completed his 21st NHL season with the Penguins, notching 74 points (29g, 45a) in 68 games.
“Yeah, I’m saying year to year based on contracts,” Crosby told Yohe. “It just seems to make sense. I mean, it could change. We’ll talk about it and do what makes sense. If it does make sense to sign for a couple of years, then we’ll do that. At the end of the day, I’m just going to do what’s best for the team. It’s got nothing to do with how long I want to play. It’s not like that at all.
“I definitely want to keep playing for as many years as possible,” he added.
During the 2025-26 season, Crosby became the new all-time points leader for the Penguins, passing Mario Lemieux with the 1,724th point of his career on December 21. The achievement also moved Crosby past Lemieux for the eighth-most points in NHL history, and he later jumped over Steve Yzerman for sole possession of seventh place.
Crosby, who will turn 39 in August, clearly showcased that he’s still one of the best players in the NHL, so keeping him around for as long as he wants to play shouldn’t be a tough decision for general manager Kyle Dubas. However, the Penguins have a handful of those decisions to make over the next few offseasons, with veterans like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust all nearing the end of their contracts.
While Dubas has already made his thoughts clear about retaining Malkin this summer, he also recently commented on Crosby and Karlsson as they become eligible for contract extensions on July 1.
“I think when it comes to players at that age, they’re not eligible until July 1, so it’s not been a front-burner topic for us,” Dubas said last week. “I think with both of them, maybe it’s something later in the summer as we get back in the fall, but Sid’s in a different category. I think when most players start to get into their late 30s, it tends to become a year-to-year thing. I don’t know if that’s how each of them will want to handle it.
“The intention has always been clear,” Dubas added. “I think he should finish his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. How long that is? I’m not going to put any limits on Sidney Crosby. He’s capable of great things and is still performing at an extraordinarily high level.”
The Penguins made the playoffs this year for the first time since 2022, but were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. Dubas, who, per PuckPedia, has a league-high $42.5 million in cap space to work with, will likely attempt to make moves to ensure the Penguins stay competitive in a Metropolitan Division that features only one real rebuilding team, the New York Rangers.
