Pittsburgh Penguins superstar captain Sidney Crosby recently revealed that he wants “to keep playing for as many years as possible” and could sign an extension with the Penguins this summer.
While Crosby is currently under contract
only through the 2026-27 campaign, Penguins legend and friend Evgeni Malkin is on track to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. During a chat with Penguins reporter Josh Yohe of The Athletic for a piece published on Friday, Crosby seemed to offer an update regarding Malkin’s short-term future.
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“I’ve just always expected to be playing with him,” Crosby said about Malkin. “I don’t know. After talking with everyone at the end of the year, it felt like it was in a good place in terms of getting something done.”
During his end-of-season news conference earlier this month, Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas insisted that he “would love to have” Malkin back for at least one more season. Crosby was sure to avoid making any guarantees about Malkin while speaking with Yohe.
“I stopped trying to project things a long time ago,” Crosby said. “I try not to forecast or think ahead. I’ve found out many times that doing that can be a bad idea.”
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Crosby and fellow franchise icon Kris Letang are both under contract and have publicly made it known they want to keep playing with Malkin. Back in 2023, they became the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports history.
While the perception exists that Crosby holds at least some power as it pertains to personnel moves made by the Penguins, he suggested Dubas will decide whether or not Malkin receives a contract offer to his liking.
“I’m a player,” Crosby told Yohe. “If Kyle asks me for my opinion, I’ll share it. I’m comfortable with that. But I’m definitely not trying to pick our roster.”
The reasons against bringing Malkin back include the fact that he will turn 40 years old this coming July, is no longer what he was when he was in his prime and has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his lengthy career. Understandably, such points seem to matter little to Crosby.
“I think everybody knows how I feel about Geno at this point,” Crosby added during his comments. “I think everybody knows what I think he means to our team, what he’s done for the organization for 20 years. It goes without saying.”
Penguins fans who have called into local sports-talk programs since Pittsburgh was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the rival Philadelphia Flyers have made it known they also want Malkin back for a “Last Dance” season. It remains to be seen if those supporters or Crosby will impact Dubas’ plans of embracing a youth movement at this stage of the executive’s roster restructuring.