Sidney Crosby isn't close to retiring, wants to play 'for as many years as possible'

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksLatest NHL mock draftUFA big boardPlayoff bracketRed Light NewsletterExclusiveSidney Crosby isn’t close to retiring, wants to play ‘for as many years as possible’Sidney Crosby stands seventh on the all-time NHL points list. Steph Chambers / Getty Images Share articleFRIBOURG, Switzerland — Sidney Crosby shared a laugh with Macklin Celebrini during Team Canada’s practice on Wednesday, and as usual, stuck around on the ice long after most of his teammates had called it a day. The original “Kid” was having a blast with Canada’s youngsters. He didn’t look like someone who would be hanging up his skates anytime soon. Crosby had just endured, on some levels, one of the most frustrating seasons of his life. He wasn’t able to take the ice in February, with the Olympic gold medal on the line between Canada and the United States. A freak knee injury in the quarterfinals robbed him of that experience. Canada fell in overtime, with Crosby sidelined. We’ll never know if he would have won his third gold medal had he played. Two months later, Crosby made his grand return to the Stanley Cup playoffs, the stage he craves like nothing else. His Penguins looked utterly out of sorts in the first two games of the series against the Flyers, ultimately falling to the team Crosby hates the most. Add it all up, and the Penguins captain could be forgiven if he were brooding this offseason. He couldn’t possibly have even been expected to travel to Europe for the IIHF World Championship, for that matter. And yet, there he was, a big smile on his face. It would appear that he’s enjoying the game as much as ever and that he’ll play another five years, even if he’s about to turn 39. “Ha,” Crosby told The Athletic on Wednesday, his face pondering the idea. “That would be nice.” When Crosby met with reporters following the Penguins’ loss to the Flyers, he said that he would be taking a year-by-year approach to the rest of his career. It’s the first time he’s ever spoken of his career in such a short-term window. Does that mean that there’s a possibility that next season could be his last? Crosby, after all, is only under contract for one more season. “I said year to year because of where the team is at,” he said. “It just makes sense, whether it’s our cap, who we have coming in and out, just to have that flexibility. It’s important.” Crosby didn’t mean that he would be considering retirement after each season. Rather, this past season seemed to reinvigorate the living legend. He recorded the 21st straight point-per-game-or-better season of his career. “Yeah, I’m saying year to year based on contracts,” he explained. “It just seems to make sense. I mean, it could change. We’ll see. Kyle (Dubas) and I haven’t even talked about it. But I’ll talk with Pat (Brisson) and Kyle later this summer. 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.” Crosby isn’t thinking about himself, which is pretty typical for him. Rather, he said, he’s thinking about the Penguins and how he can help them prosper in the coming seasons. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2022 this year, and the upward trajectory has him thinking big things before his career concludes. More than anything, he’s putting the team first. “It’s pretty obvious why I would just go year to year with the contracts,” he said. “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.” Signing shorter contracts, Crosby has concluded, gives Dubas more options and the Penguins more flexibility moving forward. Crosby has stated, time and again, that he only ever wishes to play for the Penguins. This season’s resurgence has emboldened that desire. And by the sounds of things, he might be sticking around for a while. Next season will be the 22nd of his NHL career. Only 13 people in NHL history have played more seasons. Only one player — Alex DelVecchio, Detroit (24 seasons) — has played more than 22 seasons with the same team. When Crosby plays his first game of next season, he will have passed Pirates legend Willie Stargell for most seasons played with a team in the history of Pittsburgh sports. Crosby has 1,761 points in his NHL career, good for seventh most in NHL history. He is only 10 points from passing Marcel Dionne and 37 points from passing Ron Francis, which means he figures to be in the top five fairly early next season. He is only 160 points from catching Jaromir Jagr for second place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. Crosby sounds as though plenty of gas remains in the tank. No one could have expected Crosby flying overseas to compete in the fortnight that is the world championships, especially given the health issues that plagued the second half of his season. Most players who are making their way to the conclusion of their NHL careers prefer more time off in the summer. Of course, Crosby isn’t thinking about retirement anytime soon, anyway. He needed to regroup following the loss to the Flyers. “I just needed a few days to get some time off, to be honest,” he said. “It was a busy year. one of the busiest I’ve ever had. Sometimes, when you’re coming off a playoff loss, your mind is just in so many different places. You want to keep playing, but then sometimes, you relax a little bit and just need some rest. So I was just taking my time. I was talking with Spez (Penguins assistant general manager and Team Canada co-general manager Jason Spezza) throughout the whole process, letting him know how I felt. By the end of the week, I was just feeling so much better and better. So, I’m here.” “I definitely want to keep playing for as many years as possible,” he said. And with that, he headed back into the Team Canada locker room, another day under his belt. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms