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Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Where Will Sidney Crosby End up Among the NHL’s All Time Points Leaders?

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Cory Tucek | Last updated Jan 30, 2025 3:20 PM ET

All it will take for Sidney Crosby to end his career second on the NHL’s all-time scoring list is 271 points. While nobody is catching Wayne Gretzky’s point totals, Crosby has a legitimate shot at surpassing Jaromir Jagr’s total of 1,921 points and ending his career as the player directly behind “The Great One.”

What Crosby Needs to Catch Jaromir Jagr

Crosby has averaged 1.14 points per game over the last four seasons, but let’s say, for the sake of this exercise, he will average one point per game for the rest of his career. Let’s also assume, although unlikely, that Crosby doesn’t miss a game from here on out.

Crosby needs 271 points to get to 1,922 total, which means he would need to play 271 more games or roughly 3.33 full 82-game seasons.

With 55 points through 53 games this season, if he adds 29 points in the final 29 games, Crosby would end the campaign with 84 points, breaking the tie with Gretzky for his 20th-straight season averaging a point per game. He would also only be 242 points away from passing Jagr. That would mean Crosby could pass Jagr by the end of the 2027-2028 season. The problem is that Crosby’s contract expires after the 2026-2027 season and it remains to be seen whether he wants to play beyond it.

How Long Will Crosby Play?

If Crosby continues to average a point per game, when his contract ends, he could be only 78 points away from sitting alone at second all-time. However, it’s clear that individual accolades aren’t what drives him. So, if the Penguins are still floundering after the 2026-2027 season, he might hang up his skates regardless of how close he is to this milestone.

However, if general manager Kyle Dubas can successfully guide the Penguins through this mini-rebuild, they could be on the verge of making one last run at the Stanley Cup by the final year of Crosby’s contract. That is a scenario that he might consider sticking around an extra year or two for.

A lot needs to go right between now and the end of his contract. Crosby needs to keep averaging a point per game for what would be 23-consecutive seasons. He also needs to remain healthy and play almost every game, while a rebuild or a retool would need to be a success.

So, while it seems unlikely, if anyone can achieve the unthinkable, it’s Crosby, especially considering all the injuries he’s overcome.

Crosby’s Missing Years

From 2011-2013, Crosby only played 99 of a possible 212 games, mainly due to concussions. He missed 113 games during his prime years when he was averaging .55 goals per game and 1.05 assists for 1.6 points per game. Had he been healthy, Crosby likely would have added 180 points to his career totals. In other words, he would only need 91 points to pass Jagr, and he would likely pass him next season.

If Crosby hadn’t missed a game, he’d now be around 1,831 points, to rank fifth all-time and would likely end this season with 1,860 points, in fourth place all by himself, behind only Gretzky, Jagr and Mark Messier. He’d head into the 2025-26 season 62 points away from passing Jagr and on pace to finish his career with more than 2,000 points and the age of 40.

This is not to wonder what might have been, but rather to point out how lucky we are to be witness to his career; that he pushed through all those injuries to even come close to reaching 1,922 points.

In 2011-2012, after six unbelievable seasons and one Stanley Cup, Crosby’s concussion problems started at the 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh. Penguins fans were sitting there wondering if that’s all they were going to get. One Stanley Cup, and a lot of time to wonder “what if.” Instead, they got everything they could have dreamed of when they won the “Sidney Crosby lottery.” Crosby came into this league with unreal expectations heaped upon him, and he’s exceeded them all.

To date, Crosby has 608 goals, 1,043 assists, and three Stanley Cups, and he would likely give up any individual accolade for one more championship. The Penguins might not be the team they used to be, but they still have All-Star talent and an all-time great in Sidney Crosby. Enjoy him while it lasts. But, in a dream scenario, what would be the perfect way for this ride to end? Easy, Crosby would pass Jagr to rank second all-time in points while he leads the Penguins to their fourth Stanley Cup in 2028.

Maybe they win it on home ice this time, he announces his retirement during the post-game celebration, and the last image we have of Crosby on the ice is of him hoisting the Cup in front of the home crowd and then carrying it off into the locker room. Of course, those are unrealistic expectations to load on the captain, but he’s made a career out of exceeding expectations, so anything is possible while Crosby is wearing the black and gold.