I was exchanging texts with PenguinPoop colleague Caleb DiNatale this morning when a dreadful thought occurred to me. One almost too terrible to entertain.
What happens to the Penguins when Sidney Crosby retires?
To digress for a moment, based on the excellent stretch-run play of rookies Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, not to mention the energizing effect and impact they’ve had on the team, it isn’t all that difficult to envision the Pens executing a turnaround quicker than anyone might imagine. Especially if fellow kids such as Tristan Broz, Harrison Brunicke, Sergei Murashov, Owen Pickering and perhaps even Avery Hayes prove to be ready in relatively short order.
Admittedly a stretch, but not outside the realm of possibility. After all, we’ve gone 9-4-2 since the trade deadline and have the look and feel of a decidedly different (if still flawed) team.
While a Capitals-style run to Presidents’ Trophy contender is most certainly out of the question, seriously challenging for a playoff spot as soon as next season might not be so far-fetched.
Especially with Sid serving as the cornerstone.
At 37 years young, he’s putting the finishing touches on yet another spectacular season. He’s tied for third in the NHL (with Artemi Panarin) in 5v5 points with 55. For the record, ahead of both league leading point-scorer Nathan MacKinnon and top goal-getter Leon Draisaitl. Supernova Connor McDavid, too.
Sid’s either scored or assisted on 89 of the Pens’ 236 non-shootout goals, well over a third of the team’s output at 37.7 percent. He’s won over 57 percent of his faceoffs.
He’s literally at the epicenter of every good thing we do. Our catalyst in so many ways.
Wanna open the game up? Sid can still skate with you. Wanna muck and grind? You’re playing to his strength. Wanna scrap? He’s only too willing to oblige and take your lunch money on the power play to boot.
In short, there’s nothing Sid can’t do on ice, except maybe tend goal. (We haven’t verified that yet.)
I find all this truly remarkable, to say nothing of his leadership, competitive spirit, work ethic, grit and attention to detail. The consummate hockey player. IMHO, perhaps the greatest all-around player of all-time.
Again, what happens when he finally hangs up his skates?
It blows a Copernicus-sized crater through the very heart and soul of the team, that’s what happens. One that no one currently in the organization could even remotely begin to fill.
Even if we’ve begun the resurgence I alluded to earlier? Unless we have the extreme, off-the-charts good fortune of drafting another franchise player like Gavin McKenna and/or Landon DuPont (and even if we do) Sid’s retirement will likely set us back on our heels for goodness-knows-how-long. There’s just no way to effectively replace all he does. At least not with one player. Maybe not even a handful.
The fact that Sid’s so marvelously consistent in all aspects of his game, unfortunately, makes it all the easier to take him for granted. Again, setting us up for a gut-punch dose of reality when he goes.
Hopefully, that day won’t come anytime soon. He’s signed through 2026-27. If this season is any indication, the fire still burns. I can see Sid signing another deal after the current one and being effective well into his 40s, not unlike former black-and-gold great Jaromír Jágr.
He’s that special.
When he does hang ’em up?
It brings to mind the closing lyrics to Don McLean’s 1971 mega-smash, American Pie.
And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day that Sid retired
Rick,
To all things comes an end. Having been blessed to watch Mario, when he retired did we ever think we would ever see the likes of Sid and Geno?
First, the most important thing our Pens need to do, when Sid retires is get a real NHL level coach, not someone who needs generational talents to win (and then take credit for their players skill).
Second, our Pens just may have a couple of studs, even now. The difference being that the new wave of Penguins talent will be lights out Goaltending. Instead of watching highlight Gs, we may be entering an era of highlight Svs.
It is right to honor Sid when he retires, but truth be told, new players will come in. There may be several seasons of pain, like that which occurred between the Mario era and the Sid and Geno era, but eventually some new kid will come along.