Tick, tick, tick …
Hockey, like any sport, is synonymous with numbers. Goals, assists, points, power-play percentage, advanced statistics, salary-cap figures, player ages. They’re all numbers.
With that in mind, here are some numbers that should snatch everyone’s attention:
43 — The number of days since Sidney Crosby could have signed a new contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, an agreement the team wants and Crosby has always insisted he does, too.
36 — The number of days (approximately) until training camp begins in Cranberry, where Crosby will be asked about his contract with obnoxious regularity if he still hasn’t signed. And if he hasn’t signed by the time the season begins? The Penguins will have played in Toronto and Montreal before the season is a week old. Think Crosby will have to deal with any questions in those cities?
321 — The number of days until July 1, 2025, when Crosby is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I believe Crosby will sign a contract with the Penguins before training camp begins. I’d be stunned if it doesn’t happen.
Still, the longer this goes, the stranger it becomes.
What’s so complicated?
If you’re Penguins president/general manager Kyle Dubas, you aren’t going to drive a hard bargain, right? Sure, it would be in the Penguins’ best interest if Crosby played for a hometown discount, and maybe he will. He’s been doing it for almost 20 years, after all. Dubas, though, isn’t in a position to play hardball with Crosby. This isn’t just another great player. This isn’t just another aging superstar. It’s the face of a franchise founded in show business and star power. It’s the face of the NHL for most of his career. It’s the face of Team Canada. It’s one of the five greatest players in hockey history and still one of hockey’s best players in 2024.
You don’t show someone like him the door, nor do you lowball him. Dubas knows that. If Crosby wants to keep playing at $8.7 million annually, fine. If he wants to play for even less to help the team, great. If he wants a raise, whatever. He’s earned it and then some.
From Crosby’s point of view, none of this makes much sense, either. He’s on record saying he wants to play only for the Penguins. Bring up the mere idea of him playing for another team, and he’ll look at you like you’re from a different planet. I spoke with Crosby on the night Kris Letang signed his six-year contract in Montreal, which was two summers ago.
“I hope we can play another six years together,” Crosby said then.
I’ve known Crosby for 15 years, and, to the best of my knowledge, he’s never told a lie. I’ll take him at his word.
Letang is under contract for four more years. Evgeni Malkin is under contract for two more years. Those are not only two men Crosby has won the Stanley Cup with three times, but they’re his two closest friends on the team.
Looking at the state of the Penguins, it would be understandable on some level if Crosby wanted to finish his career in the spotlight. There is a general sense of decay around the Penguins these days. Sure, they could exceed expectations this season, make the playoffs and pull off an upset or two. Crazier things have happened, and talent remains in Pittsburgh. There’s even some young talent finally on the way. The trajectory of this franchise, though, isn’t great. Those spring nights when the Penguins ruled the hockey world were a long, long time ago. They play in relative anonymity these days, just a handful of all-time greats playing out their careers while younger, hungrier, deeper teams fight for the trophy Crosby once owned.
If Crosby wanted to leave, that would be fine. Some would be angry at him, and others would remind him that he fought for Letang and Malkin to stay, so he should stay, too. That’s reasonable, but Crosby doesn’t owe Pittsburgh or the Penguins a thing. On and off the ice, he is the epitome of greatness. He can do as he pleases.
But that’s the thing — so far as I can tell (and so far as anyone else can tell), he does want to stay in Pittsburgh. I don’t even get the sense that he would consider leaving.
If Dubas had it his way, I’m willing to bet he’d trade Malkin and Letang if he could. They make a good chunk of money, they’re declining and the return would help the Penguins rebuild.
But Crosby is different. He’s still great, and a profound argument could be made that he’s the greatest captain in hockey history. Don’t ask me. Ask the people he’s played with over the years. Listen to how they talk about him.
Under zero circumstances do the Penguins want to risk losing Crosby. For the sake of the on-ice product, for the Penguins brand and everything imaginable, keeping No. 87 in Pittsburgh until that number rises to the rafters is an undeniable priority.
So, why isn’t it being prioritized? What’s the holdup?
Dubas and Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, are busy. It’s summer. Hockey people go on vacation in the summer. Sure.
But they aren’t that busy. Crosby will always be Brisson’s most important client and Dubas’ most important player. Crosby was skating in Cranberry in July. It’s not like he hasn’t been around. No matter what else the Penguins and Brisson have going on, Crosby’s relationship with the Penguins is always a massive priority. Why, then, does something feel so off?
This isn’t good for ticket sales. It’s not good for corporate sponsorships. That lack of buzz around the Penguins right now is deafening, but it grows a little louder every day that passes without Crosby signing a new deal. He’s the Penguins’ heartbeat. He keeps the organization financially stable. He keeps coach Mike Sullivan’s product respectable, even if it’s not the team it once was. Hockey fans in Pittsburgh still get excited when summer nights turn a little chilly because they know hockey is right around the corner. Even if their favorite team is no longer a contender, they still get to watch Crosby play every night. And there’s something great about that.
Will he sign between now and the middle of September, when training camp begins? I have to assume so.
However, if Crosby arrives in Cranberry in September without a new contract, the Penguins will receive all kinds of buzz.
Just not the kind they want.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
