Crosby to break Lemieux's longevity record with 18th season for Penguins
Center will set milestone at home against Coyotes
By
Wes Crosby
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
The center will begin his 18th season with the Pittsburgh Penguins when they host the Arizona Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, BSAZ, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Lemieux played 17 with the Penguins (1984-97, 2000-06).
"I don't think about it a whole lot, to be honest with you," Crosby said. "I feel like it's a privilege every year you can play in the NHL. You just appreciate the opportunity you have, to do what you love every day. You hope you can do it for as long as possible."
Crosby said he is mostly focused on winning. Still, passing Lemieux in any capacity warrants some attention.
"It's special," linemate Jake Guentzel said. "Just the longevity in the League, and to play at a high level that long, it's very unique. It doesn't happen that often. We see it day in, day out, how hard he works and what he brings to this team.
"It's obviously a pretty cool achievement. But I know he's got a lot more years left."
Crosby's 1,108 games are the most in Penguins history ahead of Evgeni Malkin (981), Kris Letang (941) and Lemieux (915). The captain is second to Lemieux in goals (619 to 517), assists (1,033 to 892) and points (1,723 to 1,409).
At 35 years old, Crosby seemingly hasn't slowed.
Coming off offseason wrist surgery last season, Crosby had 84 points (31 goals, 53 assists) in 69 games. The 1.22 points per game were his most since he had 1.30 in 2013-14.
If Crosby has a similar average, he could get at least 91 points to hit 1,500 this season. Fourteen players in NHL history have reached that mark led by
Wayne Gretzky
's 2,857. He can also pass
Jaromir Jagr
(10) and tie Lemieux (11) for the most 30-goal seasons in Penguins history.
"I don't even know what to say, honestly," Letang said. "The hockey stuff, everybody is witnessing it. He's probably in the top five players of all time."
Watch: NHL 100 Greatest Players: Mario Lemieux
That's high praise. Guentzel went even further after saying he, at 28 years old, doesn't remember much about the pre-Crosby Penguins.
"Generational player. The best player to ever play," Guentzel said. "You're still in awe of him to this day when you see him. Just an unbelievable guy and an unbelievable player that we're lucky to have as our leader."
Crosby will tie
Joe Sakic
's 16 seasons with the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques for the second most as an NHL captain of one team. He trails childhood idol
Steve Yzerman
's 19 with the Detroit Red Wings.
But the names Crosby can join aren't limited to hockey; he'll be three seasons short of Willie Stargell (21 for the Pittsburgh Pirates) for the most in the history of Pittsburgh professional sports.
Same as Crosby with the Penguins, Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner played 18 seasons with the Pirates. Ben Roethlisberger retired Jan. 27 following his 18th with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"It's elite company," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "That's just a testament to Sid's career. He's deserving of being in that company."
Crosby, Malkin and Letang will make more history Thursday. The core three will play their 17th season together, tied for the most of any three teammates in the history of major North American sports. Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera also played 17 seasons for the New York Yankees.
"When you have the experience of winning together and going through tougher times, and being at the top also, it makes you appreciate everything that you go through," Letang said. "It's something special. It's something that we're going to have together our entire lives. To have a chance to make it even stronger and try to win, that would be even more special."
Crosby, like Letang, said he hasn't taken the better part of the past two decades for granted since he was taken with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft and entered the NHL in the 2005-06 season.
"You go through a lot of different things, on and off the ice," Crosby said. "I think this place has been really special. [It] continues to be. I'm very thankful and grateful that I got drafted here. It could have [gone] a lot of different ways, especially with it being a lottery and that sort of thing.
"The fact that I've been able to play as long as I have here and have some great memories, and form some great friendships, hopefully can do more of that."
