Penguins captain Sidney Crosby: 'I'm going to try to play as long as I can'

Josh Rodgers’ loyalty to the Pittsburgh Penguins is legitimate.

Having grown up watching Mario Lemieux lead the Penguins to Stanley Cup titles in the early 1990s, Rodgers and family have had season tickets since 2004, the year before the franchise’s latest savior, Sidney Crosby, arrived.

On Monday, the 46-year-old Rodgers’ dedication was rewarded when Crosby arrived at his home in Mars and presented his family with a care package as part of the team’s traditional “season ticket delivery” celebration (even though actual physical tickets have given way to bar codes on smartphones).

“He’s one of the greats, and to have him at our house and willing to do stuff like this is awesome,” said Rodgers, whose daughter plays hockey after participating in Crosby’s Learn to Play youth program. “It’s a blessing to go watch him play. Anytime you’re in the arena, he doubles the loudness of anybody else when he gets on the ice.”

Rodgers and approximately 18,000 of his counterparts will continue to have ample opportunities to be loud for the next several years at PPG Paints Arena. Earlier on Monday, Crosby signed a long-anticipated contract extension with the Penguins.

Currently in the final year of a 12-year contract he signed in 2012, Crosby agreed to a two-year extension.

The salary cap hit of his new contract matches his previous agreement at $8.7 million.

“Just glad that that’s done and really happy to know that I’ll be here for a few more years,” Crosby said during an impromptu media scrum on Rodgers’ back porch. “And with my last contract, I don’t know that I thought about the possibility of still playing beyond then at the time. So just really happy that it’s worked out this way.”

Even as the Penguins have waned in recent seasons as a competitive entity — they have missed the playoffs the past two years and have not won a playoff series since 2018 — there was little doubt — aside from the intellectually dishonest — that Crosby would take steps to maintain a marriage that was created in 2005 when the Penguins won a lottery to draft him.

“I had some conversations with (president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas) throughout the process,” Crosby said. “I think that was reassuring, just based on what we discussed as far as there’s still hunger from the organization and ownership to win and a commitment there. I think that’s something that I think for the time that I’ve been there, that’s been the case, and that’s been there. I think that’s really important.

“I feel like, as players, for all the different guys that have played here over the course of the time that I’ve been here, it’s something that you build as a culture. That’s something that’s, I think, ingrained. And missing the playoffs for a couple of years, not being in it, is difficult. You want to try to find every way possible to get back in there and make sure that we compete for the Stanley Cup. So I think that was reassuring to hear and that helped. But, no, I think it was more just hearing that reassurance.”

Crosby certainly isn’t what he once was. But he’s still much better than most 37-year-olds have ever been in the NHL. Last season, at a spry 36, he appeared in all 82 games and scored 94 points (42 goals, 52 points).

Only three players — all recognized with plaques in the Hockey Hall of Fame — in the NHL’s first 106 seasons have scored more points at 36 or older:

• Gordie Howe, 40 – 102 points (1968-69)

• Joe Sakic, 37 – 100 points (2006-07)

• Wayne Gretzky, 36 – 97 points (1996-97)

Crosby’s new contract will take him through the 2026-27 season and his 40th birthday Aug. 7, 2027.

Given his obsessive approach to maintaining his physical skills, it’s fair to wonder if Crosby will keep playing into his 40s.

He is open that possibility but not dwelling on it.

“I don’t ever think I’ve really looked too far ahead,” Crosby said. “I know we talked about it at the end of last season. Whether it’s a good year, bad year, I don’t ever try to look too far ahead. I didn’t really do that when I was 25, and I’m not going to do it now. I think it’s a little more difficult now just because everyone wants to know how do you feel, what do you think, how long are you going to play for. And it makes it a little bit easier when you don’t really have the answer. That’s the truth.

“I feel good. I still love the game and want to compete. I’m not going to project too far ahead. But I’m going to try to play as long as I can.”

Beyond what happens on the ice, Crosby’s continued presence is clearly seismic to the team’s concerns off the ice.

Season ticket holders, television viewers, corporate sponsors, media and all other entities gauge their interest in the team almost solely based on Crosby wearing a black-and-yellow jersey.

He is aware of the stability he offers the franchise, the city and the sport in this region.

“I do understand that there’s a responsibility,” Crosby said. “And with that, I hope that that makes me better. And I hope that people understand that I take that serious. It’s not something I take lightly. So, yeah, I think it’s something that crosses my mind. But I try not to let that sit too much.

“There’s a lot of things you got to focus on, and I think just trying to be a good player, trying to be the best I can, trying to be a good teammate and that sort of thing is all that I think about, and it kind of comes hand-in-hand with (that).”

Given Crosby’s impact on the Penguins on and off the ice, his continued $8.7 million salary cap hit — matching his birth date and jersey number — seems frugal at a time when lesser players are clearing $10 million annually.

But in addition to satisfying his obscenely superstitious nature, such a figure allows the Penguins to devote salary cap space to other portions of the roster in the name of being competitive.

“I just think winning is the most important thing to me,” Crosby said. “And I think understanding the dynamic and how it works and trying to give the team the best possible chance to be successful. Ultimately, you’ve got to go out there and do your best and do your job.

“I’m more focused on that than the number, I guess. That’s just something that that’s my approach, and that’s kind of always how I’ve seen it.”

Crosby’s continued commitment to the Penguins and Pittsburgh is clear.

“He could have probably signed a $30 million somewhere else,” Rodgers said. “But he wants to win here. He loves the city.”