Kyle Dubas directly addresses Sidney Crosby's future with Penguins

For the very first time in his Hall of Fame NHL career, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby won't be participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Despite a late season push, the Penguins fell just short of clinching the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, a position that ultimately went to the rival Washington Capitals.

It's no secret that Crosby along with fellow Pittsburgh franchise cornerstones Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are all on the opposite end of 35 years of age, and aren't getting any younger. There's also the reality that Crosby has one year left on his 12 year, $104.4 million deal (that carries an AAV of $8.7 million, an obvious nod to his sweater number) and can become a free agent in the summer of 2025.

For Crosby, who is also eligible to sign an extension this July, the intention by Penguins management led by GM Kyle Dubas is to make sure he never wears the colors of another NHL team other than Pittsburgh's.

"The intention has always been clear," Dubas said earlier today. "I think he should finish his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. How long that is? I'm not going to put any limits on Sidney Crosby. He's capable of great things and is still performing at an extraordinarily high level."

However, don't expect any potential contract negotiation details to be made public. According to Dubas, that process must be kept "private".

"It's imperative they're kept private," Dubas said of any negotiations.

Meanwhile, Crosby himself is keeping a 'wait and see' approach to the impending end of his current contract while also getting realistic about his age.

"Obviously, I'm going to talk to Kyle and have a conversation with him," Crosby said. "We'll see. Obviously, at my age, and things like that, there will be a lot of factors. I don't look any differently at how much longer I can play based off that. It's always just evaluating my game for what it is, not my age."

Despite his age, Crosby is showing no signs of slowing down after having scored 42 goals with 52 assists while playing in all 82 regular season games in 2023-24.

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