Crosby lays out his plans for retirement

Sidney Crosby ain't done yet, not by a long shot.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain and one of the greatest players in NHL history opened up to Josh Yohe of The Athletic today in an exclusive interview where he laid out his plans for retirement.

Crosby's contract expires in the summer of 2027 and there's speculation that he'll pack it in then at age 40.

“Not at all,” Crosby said.

He was asked point blank if he would play five more years, taking him to age 45.

“Ha,” Crosby responded. "That would be nice.”

Crosby then explained that he'll play as long "for as long as possible," but that he'll take it year to year.

“I'm year to year because of where the team is at,” he said. “It just makes sense, whether it’s our cap, who we have coming in and out, just to have that flexibility. It’s important.”

“Yeah, I’m saying year to year based on contracts,” he explained. “It just seems to make sense. I mean, it could change. We’ll see. Kyle (Dubas) and I haven’t even talked about it. But I’ll talk with Pat (Brisson) and Kyle later this summer. We’ll talk about it and do what makes sense. If it does make sense to sign for a couple of years, then we’ll do that.”

“It’s pretty obvious why I would just go year to year with the contracts,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m just going to do what’s best for the team. It’s got nothing to do with how long I want to play. It’s not like that at all.”

Personally, I found it fun as Hell to watch Crosby back in the playoffs this season, especially after suffering a heartbreaking injury in the Olympics. To me, I'll savor every moment I get to witness Crosby on the ice. When his career is all said and done he'll go down in history as one of the greatest to ever lace 'em up and perhaps the greatest ambassador in NHL history.