After Sidney Crosby said goodbye to his last family of season ticket holders on Monday afternoon, he checked in to see if I needed anything from him before heading out, as I had tagged along to cover the visits.
I didn’t necessarily want to bother him further after a busy day that began with an informal skate in the morning; followed by the announcement of his contract extension; and then heading straight from the rink to carry on the longtime team tradition. But as always, Sid was understanding, accommodating, and gracious with his time, willing to answer a few more questions about essentially becoming a Penguin for life.
The organization drafted Crosby first overall just a few days before his 18th birthday, and this deal will take him through age 39. He’ll surpass his childhood hero Steve Yzerman as the longest-tenured captain in NHL history, remaining loyal to Pittsburgh like another one of his idols, Mario Lemieux. I wanted to know how Crosby felt about being firmly ensconced in that small echelon of players who spend their entire lengthy, storied careers with one team.
“It’s pretty cool. It's really hard for that to happen,” Crosby said. “I don't think I think about that a whole lot, but I think that when you look at that, it's really difficult for it to work out that way. So, the fact that I've played this long, and (Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin) have, that's super rare. So, I think you just appreciate that opportunity, because it doesn't happen that often.”
Crosby understands the significance of this deal but doesn’t really see it as a reflection-type of experience “because I know how I feel about the city, the team, the people here. That's ingrained. I think it was more about moving forward, just wanting to do more of that, basically – wanting to be a part of that even more.”
But when Crosby does take a look back on his time in Pittsburgh and why he loves playing here, “I think the things that come to mind are obviously the first time I came here – coming down the escalator at the airport, and just so many people there to welcome me and say hi.
“First home game, and then I remember the 100-point game. We're in last place or second-to-last place, and it sold out. You thought it was a playoff game. Coming back from the concussion… like, those snapshots or those moments in time stand out a lot.”
Crosby stopped, shook his head and smiled.
“I mean, I could go on and on, we could spend an hour here,” he said. “But I think for me, it's pretty clear to me what the city, what the team, what all the people mean to me here. It makes it that much more exciting to be able to know that I'm going to be part of it for longer.”
Truthfully, Crosby is glad the contract situation is taken care of, and he can focus on business as usual since everything feels status quo from his perspective, seeing as this is now year 20 with Pittsburgh.
“It’s odd, I get it, but it's just odd to me because it just feels like, back here for another camp and same routine. Doesn't feel that much different,” Crosby said before adding with a grin, “I'm happy that's out of the way and we can just get back to doing normal stuff, and I can be chirping OC (Drew O’Connor) next to me, and Bunts (Michael Bunting).”
Crosby’s locker stallmates did say his chirp game isn’t the best, “but maybe we’ll teach him a few things now that he’s signed,” Bunting joked. “And we’ll keep learning from him every single night. We’re all excited to obviously have him back for a few more years.”
Particularly his two longest-tenured teammates.
“He’s Pittsburgh Penguins forever, like me,” Malkin said. “I’m happy for him, for sure. I think he’s feeling we still have a chance to win. We have a great team this year, for sure. We talked yesterday a little bit on the ice, I said (three years), it's not enough for you [laughs]. You will probably still play when you’re like, 50. He’s the captain, leadership… I like to play with him. I hope we win again.”
Crosby sticking with his $8.7 million average annual value will help the Penguins in that regard, as it’s a big bargain that gives management flexibility. Letang said he knew before Crosby signed that the superstitious captain wasn’t straying from that number.
“I was pretty excited for him,” Letang said. “Obviously, he works on his game. He's still a passionate guy. He cares so much about this team and winning and proving that we can lead a team to win another Stanley Cup. The fact that he keeps his salary the same just shows you how committed he is to that task.”
