Crosby, Penguins feeling no pressure for new contract

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are comfortable entering the regular season without coming to terms on a new contract, general manager Kyle Dubas said on Monday.

The 39-year-old center is entering the final season of a two-year, $17.4 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) signed Sept. 16, 2024. The Penguins and Pat Brisson, Crosby’s agent, will continue discussions.

“It’s always an open back-and-forth,” Dubas said. “And I don’t feel, from our end, that there’s any real pressure to have it done by a certain date. We’ll just continue to talk.”

Crosby will play his 22nd season since being selected No. 1 in the 2005 NHL Draft. The Penguins captain said a new contract does not need to be in place before opening the regular season against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT).

“I’m comfortable with them having the conversations,” Crosby said on Sept. 15. “I just want to focus on playing and they’ll handle that.”

Crosby led the Penguins with 74 points (29 goals, 45 assists) in 68 games last season, extending his NHL record of seasons averaging at least a point per game to 21. That helped them finish second in the Metropolitan Division and qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a three-year absence.

But at this point in his career, Crosby said it’s impossible to know how his body will respond each season, which makes long-term commitments difficult.

“I mean, I can’t predict how I’m going to feel in January, so I’m not going to try,” Crosby said on Sept. 25. “I feel pretty good. It’s a long season, so I just need to make sure that I take care of myself the best I can. But yeah, I don’t typically think too far ahead. I’m not going to try to do that now.”

Dubas said the Penguins understand Crosby’s perspective.

“Players of this nature get to this stage of their career where they’re in their middle, late 30s, sometimes they get to their 40s,” Dubas said. “And the process becomes far less about deadlines, when the player can extend, when the contract’s expiring (and moves) to going through the season, make sure they’re comfortable with where the team is going and that they’re happy with that. Then also, how they feel during the year. I don’t think there’s any indication that Sid’s going to be in a poor place physically because of the preparation that he puts into it.”

Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson are in similar situations.

Malkin signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract on May 26, 2026, to avoid becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1. After having 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists) in 56 games last season, the 40-year-old forward said he planned to continue his NHL career even if it meant playing elsewhere.

At the start of training camp, Malkin said he was not committed to retiring after this season, which will be his 21st in the League and with the Penguins. On Monday, Dubas said he wouldn’t publicly discuss any intent to bring back Malkin on another short-term contract.

“I’m not going to do this day-to-day, year-by-year thing with ‘Geno’ again this year,” Dubas said.

Karlsson is in the final season of an eight-year, $92 million contract ($11.5 million average annual value) signed with the San Jose Sharks on June 17, 2019. He was acquired from San Jose in a three-team trade also involving the Montreal Canadiens on Aug. 6, 2023.

The 36-year-old defenseman, who was second on Pittsburgh with 66 points (15 goals, 51 assists) in 75 games last season, said a new contract has not been discussed.

“I think that the situation is pretty given on what it is and what it’s not,” Karlsson said on Sept. 17. “I’ve got one year left. You know, our team is in a weird stage, I think. So, we’ll see how it goes this year. All I can say is that I enjoyed myself. I like being here.”

The Penguins have had open communication with Karlsson, Dubas said.

“Those conversations with Erik have been very direct, and very open and great,” Dubas said. “For us, when you’re a player of that caliber and you’ve achieved so much, everyone wants to handle it a different way. For us, it’s about being respectful, plus being open with them about where we see things going here so that they are comfortable with that.”

Crosby, Malkin and Karlsson were key to the Penguins returning to the playoffs last season. That resulted in them losing to the Flyers in six games of a best-of-7 series in the Eastern Conference First Round.

The goal is to separate from the middle of the League, Dubas said. Doing that requires focusing on developing young stars instead of being as reliant on aging veterans.

“At the end of the year, we have to say we're getting closer to our goal," Dubas said, "where I think the public and you all can sit up there and say, 'They're a lot closer to being a team that can contend,’ or, ‘They are a contender now.' It's just definitive. And that may mean some difficult decisions along the way that are going to have to be made, you know, from my seat, but that's the job.”