Crosby on Ovechkin at 41: ‘His Shot Is Not Going Anywhere’

Sidney Crosby is not buying the idea that Alex Ovechkin is finished at 41.

Asked at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas whether his longtime rival still had something left, the Penguins captain laughed and answered with a question of his own.

“How many goals did he have last year?” Crosby quipped, per The Athletic.

“He knows how to score goals,” Crosby added. “You don’t lose that. Maybe as you get older, you might have to adjust a little bit. But his shot is his shot, and that’s not going anywhere.”

The math is on his side. Ovechkin lit the lamp 32 times in all 82 games for a Capitals team that missed the playoffs, and he threw 244 pucks at the net doing it. He is sitting on 929 career goals.

Take a look at him back at the Capitals practice facility on Friday:

A few months ago, nobody knew whether any of this was coming. Crosby talked about the end of last season, when Ovechkin had not said a word about season 22.

“I had no idea at that point, so in my head, I was preparing like, ‘Oh, this could be the last time,’” Crosby said. “If it was the case, you’re going to try to enjoy it. If it’s not, it’ll be great to see him back playing again. I wasn’t sure.”

That was the night Pittsburgh lined up for a handshake and Ovechkin waved the whole thing off. The two swapped jerseys and sticks afterward instead.

Here is how that played out in April:

Those two hit their 100th head-to-head meeting last season, and the league wired them both up for it. Watch the mic’d-up version:

Crosby is dealing with his own version of the same questions. He turned 39 last month, put up 29 goals and 45 assists in 68 games, and is heading into the final year of his deal with agent Pat Brisson in early talks with Kyle Dubas.

He told reporters at the same media tour that he’d like to keep playing for a number of years, without putting a figure on it.

Ovechkin turns 41 on Thursday. Crosby is betting the shot does not notice.