If you’ve been following the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ offseason, the biggest story has not been their free agent signings, their general trajectory, or even the surprising trade for former Winnipeg Jets‘ top prospect Rutger McGroarty.
Nope. That honor belongs to the Sidney Crosby extension that has not yet been signed.
Although it’s widely believed – and reported – that Crosby plans to sign in Pittsburgh, there have been questions surrounding how long it’s taking to get finalized, and there have also been some whispers about the other two legs of the Penguins’ “Big Three,” Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Each of the Big Three have varying lengths of time remaining on their current deals, and each of them may have different paths going forward.
So who will finish their career in Pittsburgh, and will any of them go anywhere else?
Sidney Crosby
As mentioned previously – and in several pieces preceding this one – it is a general consensus that Crosby will sign an extension to remain in Pittsburgh, presumably, through the end of his career. It has also been reported by Rob Rossi of The Athletic that Crosby has told close friends and family that he will sign, but that the holdout has been figuring out how much longer he wants to play.
Penguins’ GM and POHO Kyle Dubas has also said that he’s comfortable with where things stand with Crosby and discussed their approach to the Penguins’ situation:
Crosby – by all accounts – isn’t going anywhere. For a player as great as he is and who has played his entire career with one franchise, it’s understandable that he may need time and space to get a better grip on when he wants to retire. It’s a huge decision for Crosby, and it’s something he’s almost certainly not taking lightly.
So unless things suddenly go very, very south and he completely pivots from everything that’s been said and reported, it’s highly unlikely that he ends up playing anywhere else but Pittsburgh.
Evgeni Malkin
If there is one member of the Big Three that is pretty much guaranteed to play out the rest of his career in Pittsburgh, it’s Malkin.
There was a rumor earlier this summer that Malkin, who has two years remaining on the four-year, $24.4 million extension he signed in the…