Pittsburgh Penguins longtime captain Sidney Crosby inked a two-year contract extension that runs by the 2026-27 NHL marketing campaign final offseason.
Crosby is however the topic of commerce rumors this summer season, following Pittsburgh’s failure to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the membership’s considerably controversial choice to change head coach Mike Sullivan with then-New York Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse.
For a bit printed on Tuesday, Penguins reporter Josh Yohe of The Athletic defined why it is seemingly Crosby will stay a one-club man despite the fact that Pittsburgh is now in the midst of a wanted roster rebuild.
“It’s all about loyalty for him,” Yohe stated about Crosby. “Earlier than he signed his new two-year contract with the Penguins final September, I requested a member of the group if anybody was involved. The response this particular person despatched me was this: ‘Nope, none in any respect. He’s a Penguin.'”
Crosby has been a Penguin since he made his NHL regular-season debut within the fall of 2005. Whereas the 37-year-old is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and probably the greatest gamers in franchise historical past, Yohe famous in a separate article that Penguins president and normal supervisor Kyle Dubas is seeking to commerce veteran wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell this summer season as a part of an unofficial technique for the upcoming marketing campaign.
As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Penguins as +600 betting underdogs to make the playoffs subsequent spring.
Few, if any, would blame Crosby for going ring-chasing within the remaining years of his profession, and Yohe acknowledged that the longer term Corridor of Famer would most likely “favor for Dubas to get just a little aggressive and make this group higher instantly.” There is no indication Dubas will embrace such a mentality, however it additionally seems that Crosby will not look to hitch an marketed contender earlier than the expiration of his deal.
“He’s a Penguin,” Yohe added about Crosby. “He’s a Pittsburgher. He’s spent most of his life enjoying for the Penguins. Actually. Twenty years out of the 37 during which he’s walked this planet have been as a member of the Penguins. He’s completely happy right here. …Crosby deserves to stay his life on his phrases. And he desires to stay his life being the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.”
Historical past reveals Crosby might expertise a change of coronary heart if the 2025-26 Penguins are as inferior as retailers resembling DraftKings Sportsbook are forecasting. It stays to be seen how Crosby will get together with Muse, who has by no means earlier than served as a head coach on the highest stage.
