Sidney Crosby 'pretty optimistic' on contract extension with Penguins

LAS VEGAS — Sidney Crosby doesn't know when the deal will be signed.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain is also confident an agreement isn't far away.

Speaking at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour's North American leg Monday, Crosby said he expects to ink a contract extension before the team opens its regular season on Oct. 9.

"I'm pretty optimistic it's going to get done," the three-time Stanley Cup champion said in a ballroom at the glitzy Encore hotel. "I don't know what day specifically, but it's been really positive.

"It hasn't been a difficult process at all."

Eligible to put pen to paper since July 1, Crosby is set to enter the final season of a 12-year, US$104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit — matching his No. 87 jersey.

The Cole Harbour, N.S., product made the playoffs 16 straight seasons from 2007 through 2022, but has missed out the last two springs as the team tries to retool alongside an aging core led by Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.

Pittsburgh fell a point short of the post-season cutline in 2022-23 before missing out by three in April.

"We've been right there," Crosby said. "We finished really strong. We all felt pretty good about hanging in there the way that we did. We're just hoping that we can be a little more consistent in a few areas."

The two-time Olympic gold medallist is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Crosby, 37, will enter 2024-25 just four points shy of 1,600 for his career and was named one of Canada's first six players for February's 4 Nations Face-Off tournament — the closest thing men's hockey has had to a best-on-best tournament since the 2014 Olympics.

"You don't really know the trajectory of everything and how you're going to feel mentally, physically," the centre said when asked how long he plans to continue playing. "All you can do is really just each year evaluate it and go from there … I feel really good. I'm (as) excited about going to training camp as I was my first year.

"The passion and that sort of thing is all there."

The Penguins, however, don't appear close to contending. General manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is trying to walk the line of staying competitive with a nucleus on the wrong side of 30, while at the same time also looking to an eventual future that doesn't include Crosby and Co.

Pittsburgh dealt star winger and pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel ahead of last season's trade deadline despite being in the playoff hunt.

"(Dubas) has got to do what's best for the club — that's his job," said Crosby, a two-time Hart Trophy winner. "I've been around for long enough to understand that there's always challenges that come with that, probably even more so with our team. That's something that I'm well aware of.

"When he's looking at what he has to do, he's got to approach it a certain way. As a player, I have to do the same. That's just hockey."

The Penguins added forwards Kevin Hayes, Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass and youngster Rutger McGroarty this summer, but the group that fell short five months ago remains largely intact.

Crosby said he's confident a roster retool, reset or rebuild — whatever term is used — on the fly is possible.

"Some teams have been able to go through that transition a little quicker or a little bit differently than others," he said. "It's definitely possible … as a player, though, you always want to win.

"That's why you play the game."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press