32 Teams, 32 Players: Sidney Crosby

We continue to get ready for the 2024-25 NHL season by taking a look at one important player from every NHL team, and it seems fitting to go with Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

We are inching our way toward the start of the 2024-25 NHL season, and as we get closer we are going to highlight one player on each team that stands out for the season. What kind of player? Well, a player that could make a difference, be an X-factor, be on the verge of a breakout, or just simply be a player under the microscope and needing to have a big season.

Basically — which player do I think is the most fascinating on each team.

We are not going in any particularly order and continue today with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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It took a little longer than expected, and it might have created a lit bit of anxiety among Pittsburgh Penguins fans, but Sidney Crosby finally has his new contract extension on Monday morning.

Some elements of it are exactly as expected, specifically the fact that it got completed (there was little chance of it not being completed) and that it remains the same salary cap hit of $8.7 million per year.

There is also an element of it that is a little unexpected in that it is only a two-year extension, taking him to the end of the 2026-27 season.

Given that Crosby has talked about playing hockey for as long as he possibly can, and given how great he still is even as he enters his age 37 season, there was at least some thought that maybe he would sign a three-or four-year deal.

Perhaps he wants to see how he is feeling after these next three years.

Maybe he wants to see what direction the Penguins take in the construction of their roster and how competitive they are.

Or maybe he just plays it out and goes year-by-year.

Lot of possibilities, but nothing that needs to be worried about right now because he is officially signed and we can stop worrying about whether or not he wants to bail on the Penguins as they enter a re-tooling phase.

Now that it is official, I have some thoughts on where his career goes next and how he has been — and still is — one of the biggest bargains in the NHL throughout his career.

Let’s talk about it.