Penguins star on historic pace at age 36
Believe it or not, Pittsburgh Penguins star and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby is 36. However, you wouldn't know it by his play on the ice as the 11-year vet is on a historic pace, thanks to a hot start to the 2023-2024 season.
Crosby netted goal No. 14 on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, putting him on pace for a career-high of 52. While Crosby is unlikely to score at the same rate through the rest of the season, if he does, he'd join Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin as the only other player 36 or older to surpass 50 goals in a season.
Aside from campaigns shortened by injury or the COVID-19 pandemic, Crosby has been remarkably consistent, tallying 30 goals or more 11 times during his career and three times since turning 31. Per Stathead, only 19 players in NHL history have more 30-goal seasons past 31 than Crosby, with Hall of Famers Phil Esposito and Johnny Bucyk tied for the most with seven.
Crosby's tally on Thursday was career goal No. 564, bumping him into the top 25 all-time, tied with Mats Sundin and Joe Nieuwendyk for 24th. According to NHL public relations, Crosby moved to 11th on the all-time points list (including playoffs) with 1,728. However, he is still far from catching the leader, Wayne Gretzky, who registered 3,239 total points.
Crosby is showing early on that age is only a number. In his 19th NHL season, Crosby's resume already includes nine All-Star appearances, three Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies and more. While that would be enough for a few careers, Crosby seems far from done.
Whether his blazing start this season leads to history and more hardware remains to be seen, but a quarter of the way through the 2023-2024 campaign, Crosby is looking more like "Sid the Kid" than a veteran nearing his end.
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