Captain Consistent

A quick look at the National Hockey League's scoring leaders this morning - April 9, 2023 - would show a consistent theme: it is a young man's league. Of the top twenty scorers league-wide, all but two players were under the age of 30. The two above the 30-year-old line?
Erik Karlsson, 32. Sidney Crosby, 35.

That's right, the same Sidney Crosby who burst onto the NHL scene amidst hype and expectation that's been relatively unmatched since, with a 102-point rookie season 18 years ago. Not only is he still hanging with the league's best, at times he's still setting the pace for the group. They are qualities his peers believe truly sets him apart as one of the best to ever do it.
"I have a lot of respect for him," said longtime adversary Patrick Kane, now of the New York Rangers. "I've gotten to know him pretty well over the years; done a bunch of media tours with him. We've done a few camps together over the summers as well and even though he's one of the older guys out there, he's still the hardest worker out there. It's pretty impressive how bad he still wants it."
In March, Crosby piled up a pair of assists in a 4-2 loss to Kane's Rangers - a result in the standings he wasn't fond of, but a result on his personal scoresheet that had more significance: Crosby secured his 18th consecutive point-per-game season, notching his 82nd and 83rd points of the year that March evening. Only Wayne Gretzky (19) has put together a point-per-game season more times in the history of the National Hockey League than the Penguins' captain.
"It's pretty incredible," teammate Jeff Carter said. "It's every year he's been in the league, right? Then you look and see Gretzky has the record with 19 seasons; when you sit back and think about what he's actually done, it's amazing. I think it's a testament to him as a person and the work that he puts into continually growing his game as he gets older in the league. His game hasn't dropped off at all."
Yesterday afternoon in Detroit, Crosby became the 15th player in league history to reach 1,500 points, and the only active player to do so. He is the sixth-fastest, getting the milestone in his 1,188th game - trailing only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Marcel Dionne, Jaromir Jagr and Phil Esposito. Pittsburgh (Crosby and Lemieux) now joins the Red Wings (Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman) as the only teams to have multiple 1,500-point scorers.
"We all grow accustomed to all these milestones that he seems to keep achieving," Mike Sullivan said. "Every additional one that he achieves, it seems like it's that much more impressive, and it puts him in more elite company."
Crosby's done more than just keep his game at a steady pace; at times, in the later stages of his career, he's elevated it.
"Are you surprised?" asked longtime running mate and fellow future Hall of Famer Evgeni Malkin. "I'm not surprised. He's a good player. He's an amazing player. I mean, it's not easy. Every year you need motivation, you know? You need to find something to get you to every practice, every day. And you see this year like, God, thirty-five years old, but he's still motivated. He still works hard every practice and every game. It's exciting for me to watch him every day. I'm glad we stayed together."
When you take a moment and place yourself in the present, it's really incredible what we're witnessing: one of the greatest players to ever compete in the National Hockey League still continuing to largely dominate on a nightly basis. The "twilight" of Sidney Crosby's career features a brighter light than many before him and essentially all around him at the same stage of their careers in the league currently. At the same time as a youth movement of names like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak and Matthew Tkachuk garner the large portion of league-wide headlines, it's still Crosby who finds his way onto highlight reels and into conversation consistently among the league's best.
So, what makes all this still possible for Crosby? What allows him to continue to produce at such an elite level when, historically speaking, his age and mileage in the game would tend to naturally point to a downward trend? His head coach has some pretty good reasoning:
"I think his fitness level, his passion to want to be the best; just his appetite to put the work in to be the best I think is really the foundation of what sets him up for success," Sullivan said. "And, for me, that's the biggest thing that separates Sid from any other superstar that I've been around or certainly been exposed to, or worked with, is just his willingness to put the work in, day in and day out. The desire to keep his game at such a high level. It's remarkable to watch this guy every day. And he's been the standard of what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin. In his time here, he continues to be that standard."
It's hard not to imagine Crosby tying and possibly even surpassing Gretzky's record of 19 seasons with a point-per-game. It's also not hard to fathom him finding his way into the league's top-ten scorers of all-time when his career does end. However, if the franchise pillar has shown anything; that door closing is further off in the distance than should be assumed.
"His speed is not slowing down. He's still strong," longtime teammate and friend Kris Letang said. "And when someone has the hockey IQ and the brain that he has, they can play for a long time."
Three Stanley Cup championships, Olympic Gold Medals, Hart Trophies, Conn Smythe Trophies, Art Ross Trophies, Rocket Richard Trophies. The resume is long, and impressive.
However, it's the one characteristic above all the accolades that allows for the belief that more is possible: consistency. From 18 years ago to the present Spring of 2023, no one embodies the trait more than Sidney Crosby. And Captain Consistent still has many more chapters to go.