As the Pittsburgh Penguins’ ship sinks, don’t expect Sidney Crosby to abandon it

You won’t find many athletes, let alone pro hockey players, with higher standards than Sidney Crosby. He’s the future Hall of Famer working on a 19^th consecutive point-per-game season, one of six players with multiple Conn Smythe Trophies, owner of an Olympic gold-medal-clinching overtime goal. Early in his career, he worked on his faceoff skill with the mentality of a fourth-line grinder because it was his one supposed weakness. Twice, he’s flicked a switch and won the Rocket Richard Trophy, almost as if he was simply seeing if he could.

So, yeah, it was no surprise to see No. 87 a little ornery on Sunday night as his Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up a disastrous Western Canadian road trip that dealt their playoff hopes a mortal blow. Sid’s career to date has consisted of playoff miss, 16 consecutive playoff berths, playoff miss. Losing simply doesn’t come naturally to this man. Nor does the idea of taking the Penguins apart, something they haven’t truly done since the dark days of the early 2000s when they sent Jaromir Jagr packing.

Of course, from the ashes of that scorched Earth rebuild came the premium early first-round draft picks that helped the Pens select Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and so on, laying the foundation for a decade and a half of contention, four Stanley Cup Final appearances and three championships. The Pens are now the NHL’s third-oldest team, having not won a playoff series in six years and on the verge of consecutive playoff misses. If you factor out that they still have franchise pillars Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang aboard: any outsider can see it’s over. The Pens must pull the plug and begin a rebuild.

That, of course, might very well include trading left winger Jake Guentzel, the best Crosby has ever had, in the coming hours. It would be the responsible thing for GM Kyle Dubas to do, knowing they risk losing Guentzel for nothing in free agency. In a trade, he will yield what is essentially a ‘Franchise Restart Kit’: at least one first-round pick, a solid NHLer, a high-end prospect or some package resembling all that.

It’s tough to imagine the idea sitting well with Crosby, though he’s made it clear he doesn’t intend to exert any influence over Dubas. Crosby debuted on a rebuilding team in 2005-06, and he played on a team that fell just short last season, but he’s never been aboard a leaky boat just beginning its descent to the ocean floor.

That doesn’t mean he wants a life preserver, however. The takes have begun surfacing on Twitter, floating the idea of…trading Crosby? But let’s be serious here. Crosby feels like the last person who wants to give up on his city. As a 2025 UFA, he’s eligible to sign an extension as early as this summer.

True, there’s some precedent for franchise cornerstones changing jerseys late in their careers. The likes of Ray Bourque and Jarome Iginla don’t quite fit as comparisons given they were chasing their first Stanley Cups. The comparable might be something like Martin Brodeur in St. Louis or Mike Modano in Detroit. Even Patrick Kane over the past calendar year.

But Crosby feels crafted from different material. He’s arguably a top-five player in NHL history and walks among the true Pittsburgh sports legends, from Mario Lemieux to Terry Bradshaw to ‘Mean’ Joe Greene to Roberto Clemente. Just as importantly: Crosby craves greatness, and while he would have to endure some painful seasons in his late 30s, staying in Pittsburgh would give him a chance to accomplish something no one else has.

By the time Crosby completes his current deal, he’ll have 20 seasons in the books as a Penguin. By then, he should rank 14^th in NHL history on the list of players who have logged the most games with one franchise. Gordie Howe owns the record at 1,687. If Crosby averages 75 games per year going forward, he could surpass that mark by his age-42 season if he were still playing. Pretty big long shot. But Howe went on to play more games with another NHL franchise. If we’re talking pristine records for players who never left their original teams: Alex Delvecchio played 24 seasons with the Red Wings. If Crosby has five seasons left in him after his current contract ends, he could become the first player to play a 25 years with a single franchise. A quarter century. It’s a big ask given he’ll be 38 when he embarks on his next contract. But given his conditioning and competitive fire, if anyone is capable of getting there, it’s him.

So while it’s fun to ponder the idea of Crosby changing teams…don’t count on it. For one, he’s a Pittsburgh institution. And secondly, even if we factor in his winning spirit: by staying a Penguin, he has a chance to accomplish something more distinct than a fourth championship.