Pittsburgh Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby Only Gets Better

The Penguins and their fans have been blessed to bear witness to some of the NHL's greatest individual performances by players over the years. Pens legend and former owner Mario Lemieux scored 199 points in the 1988-1989 season and would have challenged for the Great One, Wayne Gretzky's single season record if he hadn't been derailed by injury and cancer in subsequent campaigns. The club as a whole has led the entire league in scoring fifteen times over the past thirty-seven seasons, a feat that no other team can boast. 

The latest Penguin to rise to the same stratosphere is longtime captain and future first ballot Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby. Crosby won't lead the league in scoring in 2023-2024. In fact he is 17th in scoring with 84 points in 76 games. But when NHL pundits discuss the leading contenders to win the Hart Trophy presented to the league's MVP, Crosby's name will be heard loud and clear. Names like Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay, Connor McDavid of Edmonton, Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado, and Auston Matthews of Toronto are sure fire candidates to lead the ticket if voters are swayed by pure stats. But if voters want to cast their ballot for a player that has done more for their team than anyone else, then Sidney Crosby should win by the length of the ice.

The Penguins traded Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 8th. Guentzel was the team’s best sniper with 22 goals at the time of the trade. Many believed it was the Penguins conceding the 2023-2024 season when the deal was made as they were 8 points out of a wild card spot and behind 5 other teams. However, Crosby's production did not slow down without Guentzel, in fact since the trade Crosby has 7 goals and 14 assists in 15 games. He is now paired with Drew O'Connor and Bryan Rust and has helped both of the wingers excel. O'Connor only had 8 career NHL goals coming into the season but has lit the lamp 13 times in his limited time with Crosby. Crosby has also added another huge accomplishment to his ever growing resume in 2023-2024. He has become only the 2nd player in NHL history to average a point per game for 19 consecutive seasons, the other is Wayne Gretzky. Crosby can become the first NHL player in history to do this 20 straight seasons in 2024-2025. 

After the trade was made the Penguins lost their first 3 games and 4 out of 5. However, since March 17th the Penguins have gone 6-2-2 and are within 2 points of a wild card spot and 2 points out of a 3rd place finish in the Metropolitan Division. 

Hard to believe the Penguins on March 31st were given a 3.8% chance of making the playoffs by Moneypuck.com. Today the chances have risen to 20% and with 6 games left they have a fighters chance.

Sidney Crosby is 36 years old and still playing hockey at the highest level. He has taken his team and put them on his shoulders. On a team that was left for dead, he has been relentless and has single handedly brought this team back into contention. The Pens still have a hill to climb and will most likely need some help in the last two weeks of the season to reach the playoffs, but no doubt Crosby's year will go down as one of the best individual performances in Pens history. 

But Crosby's legend transcends the Penguins. He may be one of the greatest captains of all time for any team in any era, and this season he has a chance to add one more special chapter to an incredible career. One more playoff bid is within the sights of the team and this core group of future Hall of Famers. And if they achieve that, it would almost entirely be contributed to the efforts and leadership of Sidney Crosby. 

Chances are strong that the Pens still don’t claim a spot the postseason. And it is unlikely that Crosby secures enough votes to win the Hart trophy, perhaps robbing him of a season where he is most deserving of it. But at the end of the day, who can really bet against #87?