The Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby are close to finalizing a new contract, according to multiple sources briefed on the negotiations.
The sources spoke to The Athletic’s Rob Rossi, who reported both sides are”closing in on a new contract” on July 8. Those sources indicated to Rossi that both the team and Crosby are optimistic that the agreement will be formalized soon.
“The Pittsburgh Penguins and captain Sidney Crosby are closing in on a new contract, multiple team and league sources briefed on negotiations told The Athletic,” Rossi wrote. “The team and player are confident a deal will be agreed upon and formalized soon, the sources said.”
According to Rossi, Crosby reiterated to Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas his longstanding desire to finish his career with the Penguins during their ongoing discussions.
“The potential deal is being viewed by both sides as ‘a commitment to Pittsburgh,’ a team and league source said,” as reported by Rossi.
Crosby and his agent, Pat Brisson, have kept the details of the talks confidential, the same as GM Dubas, but Rossi made clear that the player and his agent have always communicated the idea that Crosby “wants to finish his career with the Penguins.”
As Rossi previously reported on April 24, the Penguins veteran could sign a deal “within a range of three years and potentially an average annual value of $10 million.”
Crosby & Penguins Navigating Contract Talks
Crosby, who will turn 37 next month, was eligible to sign a new contract starting July 1. Due to his age, however, he can only sign a “35-plus contract.”
According to Rossi, that type of deal could have caused some delays in the negotiations between Crosby and the Penguins. Such a contract “prohibits a team from reducing a player’s salary-cap hit on any deal two seasons or longer by frontloading the deal or delaying a signing bonus to/after a second season.”
Rossi added that “Crosby’s age, at least as it relates to his next contract, is a wrinkle previous Pittsburgh GMs have not had to iron out.”
Crosby, 37 next season, is still as productive a player as they come. Crosby appeared in all 82 regular-season games in 2024 scoring 94 points (42 goals and 52 assists) for an average of 1.15 points per game.
According to PuckPedia, the Penguins have $3.5 million in cap space. Crosby is entering the final season of his 12-year, $104.4 million contract with a cap hit of $8.7 million in 2024-25.
GM Dubas has not committed to a full rebuild but has acknowledged the need for younger, competitive players to complement the current roster speaking of late. His actions have also spoken for themselves, as the GM traded franchise star Jake Guentzel ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
“The on-ice direction is simply we’re not looking to simply squeak into the playoffs,” Dubas told reporters on July 1, per Rossi’s story. “It’s to return the team to become a contender as soon as possible. Can we do that this season? Can we do that next season? It’s hard to put a time frame on it. But this is obviously not a strip-it-down-to-the-studs situation here; the people in the room are too good for that.”
Sidney Crosby’s Legacy in Pittsburgh
The Penguins drafted Crosby with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL draft. He’s one of the best players in Pittsburgh’s history along with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.
Over his career, Crosby has scored 1,596 points and led the team to three Stanley Cup titles. Crosby, however, signed a below-market contract for the last time in 2012 that comes out at an average annual value of just $8.7 million.
The Penguins’ core, including Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, has played together longer than any trio in North American professional sports and the idea of Pittsburgh’s brass is to extend Crosby to keep his legacy intact and to contend for a few more seasons with that core before all members retire.
According to Rossi, the Penguins would also like to keep Crosby around once he retires in a front-office position.
“FSG has viewed locking up Crosby until he retires as its top priority with the Penguins. Its long-term hope is that Crosby will join the Penguins in a front-office capacity after he retires.”
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