Browsing: Sidney

SUNRISE, Fla. — Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist for his fourth multipoint game of the season, Erik Karlsson added two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Thursday night for their fourth consecutive win.

Crosby now has five goals in a four-game goal-scoring streak, his longest since a four-game stretch late in the 2021-22 season. Ben Kindel, Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar also had goals for the Penguins, who improved to 6-2-0 and are off to their best start since 2019-20.

Brad Marchand had two goals and Sam Reinhart also scored for Florida, which got two-assist nights from Seth Jones and Mackie Samoskevich.

It was the first time that Crosby and Marchand both had two or more goals in the same game. Crosby is now two points away from joining Detroit’s Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman, along with fellow Penguins legend Mario Lemieux, as the only players with at least 1,700 career points for one franchise.

Both of Crosby’s goals were on the power play. It was his first two power-play goal game since Oct. 13, 2023 and the 12th such regular-season game of his career; the Penguins are 12-0-0 in those contests.

Tristan Jarry made 34 saves for Pittsburgh. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up five goals on just 16 shots in the Florida net.

The game marked just the second time that the Jones brothers — Pittsburgh’s Caleb and Florida’s Seth — went head-to-head in a regular-season game. Caleb Jones is now 2-0-0 in those games; he was with Colorado for a 5-0 win over Chicago, when Seth Jones played there, in 2024.

Florida outshot Pittsburgh 31-9 in the final 40 minutes — but the Penguins outscored the Panthers 4-3 in that span.

Penguins: Host Columbus on Saturday.

Panthers: Host Vegas on Saturday.

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CRANBERRY, Pa. — As Evgeni Malkin sits in an empty locker room at the Penguins practice facility, being interviewed for a story about his longtime teammate Sidney Crosby, the 39-year-old Russian center makes a point for emphasis.

“You see security here?” Malkin says, motioning to the Penguins’ detail, standing discreetly in the doorway. “It’s like, not my security. It’s Sidney Crosby’s security.”

Malkin’s résumé certainly warrants the celebrity treatment: Calder Trophy, Hart Trophy, two scoring titles and, of course, three Stanley Cups in a nine-year span that brought the Penguins back to glory.

But nobody on the Penguins — or perhaps the entire hockey world — can match Crosby’s star power. The captain’s reputation, let alone his list of on-ice accomplishments, is pristine. “You never heard one bad thing about Sidney Crosby,” said Kris Letang, the other member of Pittsburgh’s big three. “He’s perfect. He’s the perfect ambassador for the game.”

It’s why, ahead of Crosby’s 21st season in the NHL, there has been so much discourse about what his future might hold — and whether one of hockey’s most transcendent talents is wasting his final chapter holding on to what he once had in Pittsburgh.

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Not only is Crosby’s production absurd (1,687 points in 1,352 career games and counting) but few players in hockey history have remained this consistent and this competitive as they enter their career twilight. While playing his sound two-way game, Crosby scored 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) in 80 games this past season, leading the Penguins by 21 points. In an NHLPA poll released in April, Crosby was voted by his peers as the “most complete player” in the game — for the sixth straight season.

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid — at age 28, a full decade younger than Crosby — is in the prime of his career. But he still defers to Crosby. McDavid advocated for Crosby to captain Team Canada at last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, calling it a “no-brainer.”

“He hasn’t seemed to change at all,” McDavid said last fall. “He has been great year after year. It’s so impressive to see someone I grew up admiring still doing it to this day.”

Crosby has once again been able to play meaningful games on the international stage, which should include NHL players’ long-anticipated return to the Olympics this February, where he will likely captain Team Canada again.

The Penguins’ prognosis, however, is not as bright. Pittsburgh’s 16-year Stanley Cup playoffs streak ended in 2023, and the Penguins haven’t returned since. GM Kyle Dubas has been embarking on a rebuild, restocking a prospect pool that was essentially barren, with so many draft picks and young players traded away in order to chase championships. Pittsburgh’s opening night roster will feature five rookies, led by a first-time head coach, Dan Muse, who is just five years older than Crosby. They are loading up for the future.

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“We’re in a period of transition, and our goal is, and the expectation is, we’re going to get to the point where we’re not just contenders again, but it’s gonna be contending on a consistent basis,” Muse said. “It’s not just get back into the playoffs; it’s to be a true contender, and then to stay there. And I think that’s been extremely clear to me from day one. And that message has been consistent in the time prior, until now.”

Nobody knows how long that plan will take — including the Penguins. It’s dictated by a series of factors, including development.

Meanwhile Crosby’s performance at 4 Nations (he tied McDavid for the team lead with five points in four games as Canada won the tournament) punctuated how exciting it is to see him still on hockey’s most competitive stages.

Some people around Crosby, 38, have tried to advocate that it’s a disservice to hockey to stick around for a rebuild with no end in sight. That includes Crosby’s longtime agent, Pat Brisson, who has said publicly that it’s his personal belief that Crosby needs to be playing playoff hockey.

For his part, Crosby maintains tunnel vision. That might sound like lip service for most people, but not Crosby, whose determination is fueled by details and an obsession for routine. He said his mindset every season is the same — an approach that prepares him to play in June. He maintains that he hasn’t seriously considered a trade to this point.

“I know that if all my energy isn’t towards what it needs to be, then I’m not giving myself the best chance for it to be successful,” Crosby said. “If it ever came to that point, I would discuss it, but I don’t feel like I’m there.”

Crosby’s two-year extension he signed summer 2024 kicks in this season. It’s extremely team friendly: $8.7 million average annual value, perhaps half of what he could receive on the open market. It’s also an extremely tradable contract — and all the cards belong to Crosby, who has a full no-movement clause. League sources believe the Penguins would never approach Crosby to waive it, out of deference to him. A trade would have to be Crosby driven. He would choose the time, and he would choose the destination. The Penguins would need to get compensation they felt is fair. And it all likely would go down quietly.

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Or it might not happen at all. Crosby’s future is entirely in his hands. He wants to win again as badly as anyone — but in Pittsburgh. To this point in his career, he has demonstrated incredible loyalty to Pittsburgh, as well as his teammates. That’s especially true with Malkin and Letang; they are longest-tenured trio of teammates in major North American sports history

“He’s a very special person for me, because he’s probably my best friend here in Pittsburgh,” Malkin said. “First guy I met when I went to Pittsburgh, I go to dinner with Mario [Lemieux] and Sid. And after, we’re always together. I mean, he texts me all summer, you know? He texts me during season, we try to support each other. It’s not always perfect, you know? Sometimes, like, we need to understand each other. Some guys have problem with, like, games, with families, you know? Like — and he asks me, like — all the time like, ‘If you need anything, come to my house.'”

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have played together in Pittsburgh since 2006. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Malkin enters the final year of his contract and trade speculation is sure to ramp up around his name as well. As the Penguins opened camp, Malkin said he hopes it won’t be his last season in Pittsburgh, but admitted that would be dependent on both how he and the team play. Malkin scored 16 goals and 50 points in 68 games this past season. Letang is signed through 2028.

Another name to watch this season will be Bryan Rust, Crosby’s winger on the top line. Rust is signed through the next three seasons. The 33-year-old is happy in Pittsburgh and wants to stay. However, he doesn’t have trade protection. If the Penguins get a good enough offer — a package that could accelerate the rebuild — Rust could be traded away just like Jake Guentzel two years ago.

It’s not just friendships on the ice for Crosby that tie him to Pittsburgh: it’s relationships with the community.

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“We have the children’s hospital visit that we do once a year with the entire team. There’s tons of cameras,” Letang said. “But he’s also going to go see patients in a different hospital and that’s completely off radar. And, you know, I was a witness because he asked me to come with him one year and see what he was doing.”

Youth hockey in Pittsburgh has exploded since Crosby’s arrival. The Little Penguins Learn to Play program Crosby launched in 2008 has introduced thousands of kids to the sport. Crosby and the city are in a long-term relationship that truly has benefitted them both.

“I still remember my first day going there, getting to the airport, coming down the escalators, and just it was packed,” Crosby said. “To have that kind of welcoming, and then just, right from arriving at the rink to living with Mario, just so many amazing first impressions, but then great memories since. It’s been a long time I’ve been there, and I couldn’t be more grateful that it worked out the way it has and that I was drafted there.”

Those close to Crosby say the distinction of wearing only one jersey is something he strongly considers. When Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar announced his retirement after this season, he noted playing his entire career in one city was a major point of pride for him.

However, there’s a counterpoint: Tom Brady. His reputation in New England is still as its all-time franchise legend. But after 20 years, he signed with the Buccaneers and was able to finish out his career with another championship there, too.

So, it comes down to the question: What motivates Crosby at this point?

“As you play, if you still have the passion, I think you find different things that motivate you,” Crosby said. “This year is obviously an Olympic year, so you know, that’s a big motivation. But as far as just in general, I think the motivation is just to be my best. You know, whatever that is, you know, regardless of age and expectations, all that. I always just try to be my best, and that’s enough for me.”

Malkin took it a step further.

“I think he mentally wants to show every year he can play 100%,” Malkin said. “And mentality, like, maybe one more cup, you know? We want to win together again. Because last cup, like, 10 years ago.”

In fact, it has only been eight years since the Penguins last won. But for an all-time great, that can feel like forever.

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There is a scene in the third episode of FACEOFF: Inside the NHL Season 2 that, depending on your view of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is either highly inspirational or the saddest thing ever.

In it, Sidney Crosby is sweating and grunting through a set of squats in a workout room that he has personally decorated with portraits of the past 16 Stanley Cup winners. He apparently started putting these pictures up in 2008, after the Penguins lost in the final to the Detroit Red Wings. That summer, Crosby hung a photo of Nicklas Lidstrom hoisting the Cup. He then hung up an empty frame next to it as motivation for the following season.

The Penguins went on to win the Cup in 2009. Since then, Crosby has continued the tradition.

“I always put the winning captain up,†Crosby said in the Prime Video docuseries. “When we lost in â€08, I just wanted as a reminder, so I started doing that. Kept putting them up and leave the empty one there.â€

Hereâ€s the thing: no one — and I mean absolutely no one — is picking the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup this season, let alone qualify for the playoffs. The Hockey News’ Yearbook predicted that the Penguins, which finished last season in seventh place in the Metro, will end up dead last in the division. But even in what is being framed as a rebuilding year, he still believes that this could also be the year where he adds another one of his photos to the empty frame.

Call him an idealist, if you want. Or delusional. But you have to love the competitiveness fire that still burns brightly inside the veteran captain. You also have to wonder why Crosby is pushing towards a goal that seems so unrealistic and unachievable.

When asked by an off-camera producer what keeps him motivated at this stage of his career, the Penguins captain was succinct in his answer: “I think winning,†he said. “I donâ€t really know any different.â€

FACEOFF: Inside the NHL Season 2 premiers on Prime Video on Oct. 3, with the six-episode docuseries featuring Crosby, the Tkachuk brothers, William Nylander and more.

Episode 3, according to NHL.com, “raises eyebrows and questions as Crosby and his agent, Pat Brisson, talk about his future with the Pittsburgh Penguins.â€

“Sid and Pat were just amazing to us on this project,†director Daniel Amigone told NHL.com. “Itâ€s hard to get that kind of access. It was certainly not guaranteed throughout. Hopefully, we represented it accurately, and we stand behind what we have in the show.â€

Indeed, Crosby only knows one way. But that way is at odds with the path that the Penguins are forging.

GM Kyle Dubas is not trying to win a championship this season. Heâ€s not even trying to make the playoffs. No, with an over-the-hill roster and a cupboard that is bare of top-end prospects, heâ€s trying to win the No. 1 pick in the draft. In order to do that, the Penguins need to lose. And they need to lose big — and probably for more than just one season.

So what is Crosby doing staring at a wall of portraits and squatting? Itâ€s like the life-imprisoned convict who keeps his sanity by digging a hole to freedom, only to realize that heâ€s been digging towards the cell next to him. The goal is not only unrealistic, itâ€s unreachable.

That is, as long as he remains in Pittsburgh.

Which raises the question: if the only thing motivating Crosby is winning, then why not accept a trade to Colorado or even Montreal, where the chances at winning are much greater than they are in Pittsburgh?

After all, at the age of 38, itâ€s not like he has many more years of this.

“I mean, I understand it,” Crosby said of the speculation surrounding his future while at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in September. “It’s not something that you want to discuss. You’d rather be talking about who are we getting at the deadline, or where we’re at as far as are we one, two or three in the division?

“But, you know, it’s one of those things that’s the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that losing is, the buzzer goes, you lose the game, and that sucks. But there’s so much more. Itâ€s the turnover, it’s the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks. Thatâ€s the stuff that’s tough, and it makes you appreciate all those years of we’re competing and going after that big acquisition every single trade deadline. I don’t think I took it for granted, but I definitely appreciate it that much more now.”

Despite Turnover And Uncertainty, Sidney Crosby Remains Loyal To The Penguins For Now
You can say many things about NHL icon Sidney Crosby.

You could argue that Crosby has won enough and done enough where chasing another Cup isn’t that important on his to-do list.

Sure, Crosbyâ€s already a three-time Stanley Cup winner and a two-time Olympic gold medallist who probably deserves to be placed next to Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest players to have laced up their skates.

But heâ€s also a player who finished in the top-10 in scoring last season with 91 points and who captained Canada to a championship at the 4 Nations Face-Off. In February, Crosby will participate in his third Olympics, where heâ€ll try to lead the country to its third gold medal.

In other words, he can still win. And he can still help a team, whether itâ€s a Colorado or Montreal, win. But what he canâ€t do is help the Penguins win, no matter the motivation and no matter how many squats heâ€s performing.

“It hasn’t changed my approach,” he said. “I mean, I still go out there trying to win every single game and try to be the best that I can be. I think that youth and having that energy around you isn’t a bad thing, either. And we’ve got a lot of hungry guys, a lot of competition for spots. So, I think you just try to find different things that you can feed off of, and still continue to learn through it.â€

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There are certainly a lot of stories coming out of Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp in 2025, even if the pre-season is still in its infancy.

The team has an entirely new coaching staff led by Dan Muse, and young, promising prospects are making themselves stand out in pursuit of NHL roster spots.

But one of the biggest stories from training camp – despite the youth of camp – has come from the team’s oldest player.

On Friday, Penguins’ veteran center Evgeni Malkin spoke with the Pittsburgh media for the first time this season. The future Hall-of-Fame center touched on a few topics, including his summer and his first impressions of his new head coach and the way he is running training camp.

“This is the second day,†Malkin said at the time. “Really hard. But I like it. I feel fine. The league is not easy anymore. Thirty-(two) good team, young teams coming into the league. Theyâ€re flying. Iâ€m ready every day. Focused every day.â€

But the topic that made the most noise – and broke airwaves – was regarding his future.

Malkin, 39, is entering the final season of his current four-year deal that pays him $6.1 million annually. There have already been a lot of discussions around his potential retirement at the end of the season, and understandably so: Malkin hasn’t been playing peak best hockey for the past two seasons – even if 33 goals and 117 points in 150 games certainly aren’t bad numbers – and he will be 40 years old next season.

5 Observations From First Week Of Penguins’ Training Camp
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins officially opened training camp for the 2024-25 season. And through three days, there has been a lot of action.

In any case, that’s not what had folks talking. It’s what he said – specifically – about his future in Pittsburgh and whether he wanted to retire a Penguin or have the chance to play for another Stanley Cup on a contending team elsewhere.

Malkin – always honest – gave an honest answer.

“It depends on how the season is going,†he said. “If we play great, and I play great, and I feel confident and show my game, why not one more year? The season is huge for me, my team, myself. Iâ€m still hungry.”

He continued: “It’s hard. We see a story like Brad Marchand. Looking good. Team trades you, you win the Cup. Itâ€s a little weird, too. Of course, everybody wants to make the playoffs, maybe make one more run at the Cup. Great story. But I donâ€t know how I would feel if the team wants to trade me.â€

And that’s just the thing. There should be no “if the team wants to trade me” in this case.

Penguins Icon Malkin Facing Uncertain Final Chapter Ahead Of 2025-26 Season
For years now, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been a study in disappointment. In failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the past three seasons, the Penguins have failed their core of veteran star talent, including captain Sidney Crosby, center Evgeni Malkin, and defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. But in Malkinâ€s case specifically, he stated time and again that he wanted to remain in Pittsburgh for his entire career.

Malkin has earned the right – just like teammate Sidney Crosby – to go out on his terms. If he wants to Cup chase one last time, he should have a lot of say in where he goes and will have full say if he goes at all, since he has a full no-movement clause.

But if he wishes to stick around and retire a Penguin, he should get to do just that, too.

For starters, the Penguins aren’t going to recoup significant assets for a 39-year-old Malkin, anyway. With a strong draft class on the horizon in 2026, teams aren’t going to be willing to throw around first-round picks like they’re nothing. Unless Malkin has a ridiculously good season – and unless a team gets ridiculously desperate – nothing higher than a second-round pick should be expected in return, and the Penguins already have second- and third-round picks out the wazoo over the next three drafts.

If the return isn’t going to be worth losing a legendary franchise player, anyway, there’s no reason for Kyle Dubas and company to approach Malkin about waiving his no-movement clause whatsoever.

That is, unless Malkin is the one who initiates it.

Dubas said prior to training camp that the team plans to regroup with Malkin and his camp during the 2026 Olympic break in February. If Malkin would go to Dubas at that time and declare that he wishes to go to a true contender, that changes things.

Malkin is certainly within his right to do that if it’s what he wants. He’s earned that. He owes the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh absolutely nothing at this point. And, if he does have a good year, it’s always possible for him to be dealt at the deadline and re-sign with Pittsburgh for one more year after.

But, despite all the noise – and his other comments – take it from Malkin himself: At this point, he has no desire to leave Pittsburgh.

“I hope I stay here,†Malkin said. “Like Sid, Tanger, Penguins forever, for sure. I hope we play great. I want to stay here, for sure.â€

Like Crosby, maybe fans and larger hockey media should take Malkin’s words at face value.

And, maybe, so should Dubas when the time comes.

‘The Young Guys Are Coming’: 3 Observations From Dubas’s Pre-Season Press Conference
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their 2025 training camp with a few words from general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas.

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!

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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby made it clear on Monday that he is sick and tired of the trade rumors surrounding him.

Crosby took some time to meet with local reporters while he was delivering season tickets to fans and confirmed that he wants to be a Penguin. It comes after Pat Brisson, his longtime agent, made some comments to the national media about Crosby’s future last week.

“I don’t take those rumors or some of those things lightly. Like I said, this is where I want to be,” Crosby told reporters. “It’s a special place, and it’s something that is hard to put it all in a soundbite, but it means a lot.”

Crosby has been a Penguin his entire career since he was drafted first overall in the 2005 NHL Draft and doesn’t want that to change. He’s heading into his 21st NHL season this year and is focused on winning, despite the team being in a rebuild.

It’s the way he’s wired, having helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cups during his playing career and having appeared in four Stanley Cup Finals and five Eastern Conference Finals.

The Penguins will open training camp this Thursday, and Crosby will obviously be there with the rest of his teammates as they get set for the regular season. The Penguins will open the regular season against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden on October 7.

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!

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