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I look forward to Sidney Crosby’s 1,169th game as the Penguins play in Washington on Tuesday night.
Wait. What?
I’m sure you’re wondering how I came up with that number, considering how we just saw Crosby’s 1,000th game on Saturday against the New York Islanders.
I just happen to think the recognition is overdue, given the way he’s played in 168 playoff games as well. And based on the way many NHL players say postseason games are “twice as intense” as regular season games, maybe that number is actually 336.
So if you want to credit Crosby for 1336 games played, I’m not going to stop you.
But before we turn that into a theoretical digital exercise like we haven’t seen since Stanley Tucci’s bridge monologue in “Margin Call,” let’s get right to the point.
In a non-pandemic year (if we ever see one again), the league is playing 82 games.
As a result, Crosby essentially played two more seasons of NHL hockey in playoff games only. That’s on top of completing 15 regular seasons (plus 16 games so far this year).
So let’s see how much that extra mileage will weigh on Crosby’s longevity.
If you don’t like the numbers, just skip down to the part where you see Crosby’s stats in bold and italics, and we’ll catch up to you. If you want to see how we get across the bridge, stay with me.
Here are some comparisons to other big names in the NHL that Crosby is often linked with.
• Steve Yzerman (22 seasons) played in 1,514 regular season games, including 196 in the playoffs.
• Wayne Gretzky (20 seasons) played 1,487 regular season games, including 208 in the playoffs.
• Mario Lemieux (17 seasons) recorded 915 regular season games, including 107 in the playoffs.
In terms of hockey acumen, level of skill and achievement, many draw parallels between these players and Crosby. Then there’s Jaromir Jagr (24 seasons) who has similarities to No.87 when it comes to hockey mania and dedication to training.
Jagr totaled 1,733 regular season games and 208 playoff games. And Lord knows how much he has tried in the KHL, Czech League, international competition and all European pickup leagues during various offseason.
Crosby only missed the playoffs twice. Once in his rookie season. Once because of his concussions that put him on the sidelines in 2011. Gretzky made the playoffs 16 of 20 tries. Jagr 18 out of 24. Yzerman 20 out of 22. Lemieux 8 out of 17.
These are all hard comps to do due to pandemic breaks and work stoppages, not to mention Lemieux’s injuries and illnesses, Jagr’s departures for Europe, and Crosby’s concussion issues.
However, now that we’re halfway across Tucci’s Bridge, the situation becomes clear enough that, despite significant additional wear and tear from his heavy playoff loads, it’s not impossible that Crosby could play for a few years. after the expiration of his current contract. at the end of 2025.
Sid “the Kid” would be almost 38 at that time. Gretzky retired at 38. Yzerman was 40 years old. Mario was also 40 when he left the game for good. Jagr finished his final season in the NHL in 2018 at 45.
With the exception of Lemieux, those other three guys have played between 28 and 40 more playoff games than Crosby so far.
This is when the projections get a little blurry because we don’t know how many games Crosby will play in the regular season and how often or how deep the Penguins will go into the playoffs. We will therefore use averages.
In his 13 playoff seasons, Crosby has averaged almost 13 relay games. Or about a six-game streak and a seven-game streak.
Since Crosby returned from concussions and the lockout, the Penguins captain has averaged 79 games per season. It starts with the 2013-14 campaign and continues through to the end of 2019, while throwing in the mess of 2020 that was truncated by the pandemic and Crosby’s core muscle injury.
Including Tuesday’s contest in Washington, the Pens have 40 games to play this year. Let’s be optimistic and say the NHL squeezes them all and Crosby misses none.
Take 79 regular season games and multiply it by four years after the end of 2021, or 316 more regular season games. Also add the 40 remaining games from this year.
Now take the average of 13 playoff games per year over five playoffs (including this one, fingers crossed). That equates to another 65 playoff games before Crosby’s contract ends.
That gives us a projection of 421 more games in a Penguins uniform before the Crosby deal ends.
With those 421 games added to Crosby’s stats, the total number of games played in the playoffs and regular season would look like this by the summer of 2025, when his contract expires.
Jagr (45) – 1941 (24 seasons)
Yzerman (40) – 1710 (22 seasons)
Gretzky (38) – 1686 (20 seasons)
Crosby (38) – 1,589 (20 seasons)
Lemieux (40) – 1022 (17 seasons)
These projections are very optimistic for Crosby. They assume some playoff success for the Pens and that Crosby doesn’t have serious injuries. That said, when it comes to how much hockey he could have been left with after that contract expires, they show he’s in the same situation as some of those historical peers.
So what is the point of this exercise?
Watch “Margin Call”. That’s the point. It’s a very underrated movie. Now too. Enjoy it. Thank me later.
Beyond that, however, the point is that Crosby will likely still have some hockey in his tank before this contract ends. And it will be up to the Penguins and Crosby to determine whether he wants to play another two or three years here or elsewhere.
“I think as long as I’m feeling good I think I would like to play as long as possible,” Crosby said on Friday. “I don’t really have an idea of that age or that number. But I think I’m just focusing on fulfilling my contract and seeing where I am then, but I feel really good.
“I want to play as long as possible, so I guess we’ll have to see.”
Another comp? Two of these guys stayed in a town (Lemieux, Yzerman). Two did not (Gretzky, Jagr). But Gretzky and Jagr left their first teams at 28. Crosby is already 33 years old.
“I love playing here and this is where I would love to play for the rest of my career,” added Crosby.
So maybe the Penguins can hire Tucci to figure out how to work an extra $ 8.7 million against the cap for 2026 … and beyond.
Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio Network joins me for Tuesday’s Breakfast with Benz podcast. We take a look at Sidney Crosby’s thousandth milestone, his long-term future, Evgeni Malkin’s struggles, and the state of the East Division.
Tim Benz is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
Categories:
Penguins / NHL | Sports | Breakfast with Benz
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