- Crosby told The Athletic’s Josh Yohe his retirement is “not at all” coming next
- Year-to-year contract talk is about Pittsburgh’s cap situation, not how long Sid wants to play
- Read below for what Crosby said about Dubas, Malkin, and more years in Pittsburgh
Sidney Crosby isn’t done. Not even close.
The Penguins captain shut down a week of retirement speculation in a sit-down with Josh Yohe of The Athletic, making clear his year-to-year contract approach has nothing to do with hanging up the skates.
“Not at all,” Crosby told Yohe when asked if retirement could be coming. “I said year to year because of where the team is at. It just makes sense, whether it’s our cap, who we have coming in and out, just to have that flexibility.”
He doubled down a beat later.
“I definitely want to keep playing for as many years as possible.”
Retirement chatter started after Pittsburgh’s first-round exit to Philadelphia, when Crosby talked about taking things year-by-year alongside Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The line read like a soft signal. Yohe pulled the thread. Sid pulled it the other way.
One year remains on Crosby’s current deal, an $8.7 million cap hit with a full no-movement clause. Anything past July 2027 is a conversation between Sid and Kyle Dubas this summer.
“Kyle (Dubas) and I haven’t even talked about it,” Crosby said. “But I’ll talk with Pat (Brisson) and Kyle later this summer. We’ll talk about it and do what makes sense. If it does make sense to sign for a couple of years, then we’ll do that.”
His commitment level isn’t subtle. Crosby flew straight to Switzerland after the Penguins’ exit and asked to be lined up with an 18-year-old:
That lineup choice paid off. Crosby tied a 32-year-old IIHF record with four assists in a single period against Denmark, and Hockey Canada named him player of the game. Watch the full game:
Crosby turns 39 in August. He’s already broken Wayne Gretzky’s record for consecutive point-per-game seasons. Retirement chatter is going to follow him every offseason from here on out. Sid just made sure nobody gets the answer they want any time soon.
