Insider updates contract situation for Penguins' Sidney Crosby

Why Pittsburgh Penguins superstar captain Sidney Crosby hasn't signed a contract extension remains the biggest mystery this summer.

For a piece published on Wednesday, Penguins insider Rob Rossi of The Athletic insisted unsettled Pittsburgh fans have nothing to worry about even though Crosby has one season remaining on his current deal. 

"I made a few calls to follow up, and the only real news — perhaps another subjective term — is that all parties (Crosby and his agent, Pat Brisson, and Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas) were comfortable enough with where the contract negotiations stood that everybody felt comfortable going about summer plans such as taking holidays and enjoying a bit of downtime," Rossi explained. "Nobody from the Penguins' hockey side is worried about Crosby eventually putting ink to paper. This is not to suggest some folks who deal with season-ticket holders/corporate partners aren’t sweating until he does."

It was reported last month that Crosby's representatives and the Penguins were close to confirming a multi-year agreement even though Pittsburgh missed the playoffs in back-to-back years and appears to be in the early days of a needed roster rebuild ahead of the captain's 37th birthday that he'll celebrate next Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Penguins at +120 odds to make the playoffs for the 2024-25 season.

"Crosby has never waited anywhere near this long in an offseason to re-up with the Penguins," Rossi continued. "It’s also true that he has a birthday approaching and he has a history of attaching importance to the day he was born; he wears No. 87 and has played on an $8.7M cap hit because his birth date was Aug. 7, 1987. Read into that last sentence what you will."

Logic suggests Pittsburgh's championship window with Crosby, center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang on the roster slammed shut this past spring. With that said, there is still no indication Crosby has experienced a change of heart about wanting to feature only for the Penguins at the highest level.

Crosby is a living legend and club icon who has earned the right to wait as long as he wants to declare how he'll finish his Hall of Fame career. If, however, Aug. 7 comes and goes with no announcement from the Penguins about a contract extension, some may understandably question what Crosby truly thinks about the direction of a franchise that isn't close to winning a fourth Stanley Cup under his guidance.