Sidney Crosby passes Mario Lemieux for most assists in Penguins franchise history

Now in his 20th NHL season, Sidney Crosby continues to hit major milestones and make history on a seemingly nightly basis.

That didn’t change on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Penguins captain recorded his 1,034th career assist, passing Mario Lemieux for the most assists in franchise history.

The 37-year-old Crosby accomplished the feat early in the second period of their game against the New York Islanders. On the power play, Crosby had an assist on a Michael Bunting goal, giving the Penguins a 2-0 lead.

Crosby is coming off his third 40-goal season and his eighth 90-point season, scoring 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points with the Penguins in 2023-24. Through 20 NHL seasons, Crosby has scored 602 goals and 1,034 assists for 1,636 points and 840 penalty minutes in 1,309 career regular-season games.

The future Hall of Famer has produced plenty in the post-season, scoring 71 goals and adding 130 assists for 201 points in 180 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He led the Penguins to three Stanley Cup championships in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Crosby and the Penguins agreed to terms on a two-year, $17.4 million deal that will pay the Pittsburgh captain $8.7 million per year through the 2026-27 season.

“There are no words to properly describe what Sidney Crosby means to the game of hockey,” Penguins’ General Manager Kyle Dubas said. “Sidney is the greatest player of his generation and one of the greatest players in the history of the game.”

Going into Sunday’s game, the Penguins were 16-16-5 with 37 points in 37 games, currently a point out of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.