Crosby ‘optimistic’ about signing new contract with Penguins

LAS VEGAS -- Sidney Crosby says he is “optimistic” that a new contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins will come before their regular-season opener Oct. 9.

“I think something will get done,” the 37-year-old Penguins captain said at the NHL North American Player Media Tour on Monday. “It’s just a matter of, at my age, just trying to figure out, I think, how many years? It’s hard to project at this point. It’s kind of a year-to-year thing.

“It’s not easy to have a crystal ball and know how long you’re going to play for, but I’d like to think that something is going to get worked out here.”

Crosby’s agent Pat Brisson confirmed that the two sides are very close.

“As Sidney indicated today during the NHL media tour, we should be able to finalize the detail of an extension with the Penguins shortly,” he told NHL.com via text Monday.

Crosby is entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) he signed with the Penguins on July 1, 2013. Asked about how long he’d like to play for, Crosby chuckled.

“As long as I possibly can,” he said. “I mean, I don’t think until you’re really in that position where you’re contemplating whether you’re going to play or not, well, I don’t think you really know until that point.

“Right now, I feel really good. My body feels good. I have the same passion as I did when I came in the League to play, so hopefully that’s something that can help me continue to play and play at a high level.”

Crosby did exactly that last season, with 94 points (42 goals, 52 assists) in 82 games to finish in a tie for 12th in the NHL scoring race. It was his highest goal total since he had 44 in 2016-17 when he led the Penguins to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

The fact that the Penguins are in a rebuild has led to speculation that Crosby might want to head elsewhere, notably to the Colorado Avalanche where he could play with his close friend and fellow Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native Nathan MacKinnon. He admits he’s heard some of that scuttlebutt but said his goal remains to help the Penguins regularly make the Stanley Cup Playoffs again after a two-season absence.

“How I approach it isn’t going to change,” he said. “I mean, I want to win every time I step onto the ice. And regardless of the words you want to use, whether it’s rebuild, retool, even if you want to use another word to describe it, or use the phrase ‘going young,’ that doesn’t change what I’m trying to do as a player and competing every night to win hockey games.”

To that end, he said he understands what general manager Kyle Dubas’ agenda is in an effort to get the Penguins younger and faster.

“Kyle’s got a job to do, and I respect that,” Crosby said. “I’ve been around for a long time. I know how it works. That’s how I look at it.

“At the same time, I want to win obviously every single night. Whether that’s being part of a young team and being in that state or coming off our Stanley Cup win in 2016 and wanting to do it again the next year, my mentality doesn’t change.

“I think we’ve had that as part of our culture for a long time. And I don’t think you just turn that off.”

Selected No. 1 by the Penguins in the 2005 NHL Draft, Crosby ranks 10th in NHL history with 1,596 points (592 goals, 1004 assists). Despite the team missing the postseason the past two seasons and winning just one round since winning the Cup seven years ago, it appears Crosby is intent on finishing his career with the Penguins, however long that might be.

“We’ve been close the past couple of years,” he said. “I think we all feel really good about that.

“We just want to be more consistent in a few areas. Hopefully that will get us into the playoffs.”