1. Is there enough support for Sidney Crosby?
Crosby is entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) at age 37 and is still likely to sign a new deal to remain in Pittsburgh.
It’s less certain that the Penguins can complete their captain and face of the franchise.
Crosby led Pittsburgh with 94 points (42 goals, 52 assists) in 82 games last season, ahead of his fellow center Evgeni Malkin (67 points; 27 goals, 40 assists). Malkin, 38, has had a slight regression from his most dominant seasons, but he remains part of a productive center pairing with Crosby that led the Penguins to three Stanley Cups (2009, 2016, 2017) in their 19th season as teammates.
But Crosby and Malkin are not the problem. Crosby (42), forward Bryan Rust (28), Malkin (27) and forward Jake Guentzel (22), who was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7 and now plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, scored 119 of Pittsburgh’s 253 goals last season (47.0 percent).
If the Penguins want to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after missing the last two seasons, they can’t rely so heavily on Crosby and the other top forwards.
“When you come up short like you have the last few years, there are so many games where you want to do it again,” Crosby said. “It’s a fine line. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of it.”
