With Auston Matthews’ recent signing to a record-breaking contract, speculation has already started to ramp up as far as other soon-to-be elite free agents. While it is far too early for a lot of the chatter, it’s fair to wonder what kind of money these elite free agents will command when they come up for new deals. Connor McDavid was asked recently about it, and it is exactly what Dan Kingerski writes about in Pittsburgh Hockey Now. Kingerski wonders what type of contract Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby will get when his contract ends in two years. The comparison isn’t a great one given that Matthews and Crosby are in wildly different places in their respective careers, however, it is a fair question to ask given that Crosby is still playing at an elite level despite being 36 years old, and he will be eligible for an extension in less than a year.
Crosby is entering the 11th season of a 12-year deal he signed back in 2013. At the time, the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native’s $8.7MM cap hit was a considerable discount to give the Penguins. It allowed the team to have the cap space to surround him with elite talent. It was also a huge risk from the Penguins’ perspective given that Crosby was coming off multiple concussions, including one that put him out of action for nearly a year. But the Penguins made the move, which paid off in spades as the team captured Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
Crosby has given the Penguins a discount on every extension he has signed thus far in his career with both of his extensions coming with that $8.7MM cap hit. It has set the tone for Pittsburgh and allowed the Penguins to keep many of their stars under below-market contracts. For Crosby, he was always a team player but was also able to make nearly as much money off the ice as he did on it.
Pittsburgh fans and media have speculated about Crosby’s future since well before Matthews signed his extension and will likely continue to do so right up until he signs his next contract. But what might that look like?
It’s tough to project where Crosby’s game will be in two seasons, Crosby will be 38 years old by the time his next contract begins, however, NHL.com is projecting that Crosby will increase his point totals next season. Sid the Kid had 33 goals and 60 assists last season in 82 games and it’s hard to imagine him topping that at 36-years-old. But that is exactly what NHL.com is projecting he will do as they are predicting he will put up 102 points next season.
Whether or not Crosby hits that number is likely inconsequential when it comes to contract talks with the face of the Penguins franchise. Crosby has remained loyal to Pittsburgh and the Fenway Sports Group has remained steadfast in their desire to have Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang retire as Pittsburgh Penguins as evidenced by the long-term deals they gave Malkin and Letang.
Josh Yohe of The Athletic has said in the past that he believes Crosby wants to play until he’s around 40, which could make a two-year extension make sense. Under normal circumstances, a rising cap would lead a superstar like Crosby to ask for north of $10MM annually on an extension. However, given the past two extensions Sid has signed with Pittsburgh, Kingerski throws out an interesting number, $8.7MM per year.