Before Sidney Crosby's first home game at Pittsburgh's now-closed Mellon Arena in October 2005, Mario Lemieux walked past the media crowd surrounding Crosby into the players' lounge and poured himself a cup of black coffee.
With a smirk, he said he would soon be “forgotten.” Then, in an unusually serious moment, Lemieux predicted that Crosby would “own all my records one day,” nodded his head, and walked out.
Lemieux could have underestimated it. Crosby may have a likelihood to interrupt Lemieux's Penguins records, but in addition the NHL records of Wayne Gretzky (most consecutive seasons averaging at the very least one point per game) and Steve Yzerman (most consecutive seasons as team captain).
“(Lemieux) really said that?” Crosby said Monday afternoon after talking to the Pittsburgh media following his annual season ticket handover to an unsuspecting family in Mars, Pennsylvania. “So, ?
“Uh, there's still an extended option to go.”
Not long now. Crosby needs 99 goals, 30 assists and 128 points to unseat Lemieux in those regular-season categories on the Penguins. He long ago set the franchise records for assists (130) and points (201) in the postseason and needs just six more postseason goals to surpass Lemieux's 76.
After signing a new two-year contract with the Penguins on Monday with an average annual value of $8.7 million, Crosby will now get at least three more chances to achieve further success at a bargain price.
GO DEEPER
Crosby's new Penguins contract is his best template yet
Whether he takes the Penguins on the road – and returns them to prominence – or becomes the sole reason to care for a once-proud, now young franchise could determine whether Crosby does what Lemiex did in Pittsburgh: stay for the rest of his career.
Crosby has said he only wants to play for the Penguins and that he is aiming for another Stanley Cup title.
The Penguins have failed to qualify for the last two playoffs and will once again begin the season with one of the oldest rosters in the NHL. Since Kyle Dubas traded for star defenseman Erik Karlsson last August, the most interesting additions to the Penguins' front office boss have been a handful of promising players.
Once a rite of passage, Crosby's Penguins are hardly guaranteed to make the postseason before his new contract expires. Interestingly, that contract is structured so that he can use an opt-out before the final season if Dubas doesn't quickly get the Penguins back to contender status.
Crosby's contract is marked 35-plus, a notable status under the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and its players association. The contract includes two signing bonuses – essentially a choice by Crosby and agent Pat Brisson to receive the bulk of the actual money before Crosby plays the final season of the new contract.
Crosby will earn $780,000 and $1.09 million in the first and second years of the new contract, respectively. But he will receive $16.31 million in real money in the second year before he has even played a game.
Who cares how Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group pays Crosby as long as they pay him, right?
Every other GM in the league will take care of it.
With 93.7 percent of Crosby's salary being paid out before the second year of the new contract, he would be cheap in a potential trade in the 2026 offseason – again, in terms of actual money. By paying out the majority of Crosby's actual money before that second season of his contract, the Penguins could legitimately demand a cheaper return in a potential trade, especially if, as is likely, they were taking on a significant portion of Crosby's salary cap hit.
It would only be a one-year win if Dubas kept even 50 percent ($4.35 million) to maximize the return on a trade that would end – albeit probably only temporarily – one of the NHL's greatest love stories.
Crosby didn't sign this new contract to stay away from it. He has repeatedly said publicly and privately that he only wants to play for the Penguins.
He also said he wants to win, a sentiment he reiterated just hours after the Penguins announced his new contract on Monday.
“I've had some conversations with Kyle throughout the method,” Crosby said of the negotiations. “I feel it's been reassuring – just based on what we've discussed, because there's still a hunger to win and a commitment from the organization and the owners.”
“I feel that's really essential. I feel as a player, for all the several guys which have played here over my time, that's something that you simply construct as a culture… something that's ingrained. And to miss the playoffs for a few years, to not be there, it's tough.
“You want to try everything you can to get back in there and make sure we're fighting for the Stanley Cup. I think that was reassuring to hear and it helped. But no, I think it was more just hearing that reassurance.”
After next season, Crosby will soon be 39 years old and Dubas may have had three full years to find out his goals. His franchise icon should give you the option to take a look at the roster and judge whether it’s a Cup contender. Until then, Crosby's assessment of the situation in Pittsburgh could depend as much on his opinion of the roster as on whether he desires to proceed without Evgeni Malkin (who is probably going retiring) and possibly Kris Letang, whose final two years of his contract don't offer as much transfer opportunity.
Crosby emphasized Monday how special it was to play 18 seasons with Malkin and Letang as teammates. The Penguins' Big Three won't last beyond 20 seasons, if only due to Malkin's contract.
If after next season one or each of his good friends have moved on and the Penguins are not any closer to their first playoff win since 2018, who would blame Crosby for wanting a shot on the Cup some other place in what could possibly be his final NHL season?
Until then, it's as much as Dubas to make Crosby's decision easier. By keeping his salary because it is, Crosby provided Dubas with beneficial hundreds of thousands to enhance the Penguins next offseason and the one after that. If the Penguins are on the upswing after 2025-26, who higher than Crosby to indicate their next potentially great team how you can win?
That could be a wonderful swan song for Crosby – with the Penguins within the playoffs, one last run before No. 87 is finished.
Then he can take as much time without work as he wants, start a family and return to the franchise in whatever off-ice capability he chooses. He doesn't should turn into an owner, like Lemieux did, but he could.
Crosby's heart belongs to the Penguins. He made that clear on Monday.
“It's probably hard to put into words,” he said from the porch of a house in suburban Pittsburgh, where he playfully exchanged high-fives with children wearing different versions of his No. 87 Penguins jersey. “The support of the people, the fans, the organization, everything over the years – it's been really special and we've had incredible experiences and memories.”
“I just want to keep doing this.”
The athlete
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