Penguins re-sign Sidney Crosby to two-year, $8.7 million AAV contract extension

On Monday, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas announced the team has re-signed captain Sidney Crosby to a two-year contract extension.

The deal will kick in next season and will carry an AAV of $8.7 million through the end of the 2026-27 season.

Even though he is still one of the best players in the world, it is another year where Crosby’s cap hit resembles his number. Since signing his first contract after his entry-level deal in 2008, the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native has had a cap hit of $8.7 million. That includes the deal that will finish this season, a 12-year, $104.4 million contract Crosby signed in July 2012.

“There are no words to properly describe what Sidney Crosby means to the game of hockey,” Dubas said in a release. “The city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins organization. Sidney is the greatest player of his generation and one of the greatest players in the history of the game. His actions today show why he is one of hockey’s greatest winners and leaders. Sid is making a tremendous personal sacrifice in an effort to help the Penguins win, both now and in the future, as he has done for his entire career.”

Despite being at the age of 37, there are few players who have been game-changers the way Crosby has throughout his entire career. Even over the past couple of years, when the Penguins have been a decent team at best, he has done everything he can to help his team win. Crosby has hit the 90-point mark in each of the last two seasons, scoring 42 goals during the 2023-24 campaign, the most he’s scored in a single season in seven years.

It goes without saying the impact Crosby has made on the franchise and the game in general. He helped take a fledgling franchise from moving out of Pittsburgh to champions in just his fourth year in the league. With Crosby as captain, the Pens have won three Stanley Cups, making it to the postseason in 15 of his 19 seasons.

In 1,272 games, Crosby has scored 592 goals and 1,004 assists for 1,596 points. He ranks 10th in NHL history in points, with him also being the only player not named Wayne Gretzky to have averaged a point per game in each of his 19 seasons. Crosby has also scored 201 points in the playoffs, which is the fifth-highest in league history.

Crosby is part of the rare Quadruple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup (2009, 2016, 2017), Olympic gold (2010, 2014), an IIHF World Championship (2015) and the World Cup of Hockey (2016).