CRANBERRY, Pa. — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will add another line to a record that may never be matched when the Pittsburgh Penguins open against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday. The three franchise pillars are beginning their 21st season as teammates, a run that has already outlasted every other trio in major North American professional sports.
Key takeaways
- Crosby, Malkin and Letang have won three Stanley Cups together, lifting the trophy in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
- Crosby led Pittsburgh last season with 74 points in 68 games and extended his NHL-record streak to 21 seasons at a point-per-game pace or better.
- Malkin, 40, returned on a one-year, $5.5 million deal and says his future depends on whether he can still help the Penguins win.
- Letang enters his 21st Penguins campaign as the leading defenseman in club history in games, goals, assists and points.
- The Flyers game begins at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on HBO MAX, truTV and TNT.
A Pittsburgh bond built over two decades
It started when Malkin and Letang arrived for the 2006-07 season alongside Crosby. What followed was the most successful stretch in Penguins history: three championships, years of playoff runs and a core that stayed intact while the league changed around it.
“We’re all grateful for it,” Crosby said. “It has been a long time, so maybe you get used to it, but you do not take it for granted. We understand how rare it is, and we value each other as friends and teammates.”
Crosby, 39, is entering the final year of the two-year, $17.4 million contract he signed Sept. 16, 2024. The deal carries an $8.7 million average annual value, and he is expected to eventually reach agreement on another contract. Letang, also 39, remains under contract through 2027-28 on a six-year, $36.6 million agreement with a $6.1 million cap hit.
Malkin’s path beyond this season is less settled. He avoided unrestricted free agency by signing his one-year extension on May 26, but he has made clear that he will not play simply to extend his career.
“I want to be at my top level,” Malkin said. “I do not want to just be around and do nothing. That is not my game. If I can help the team win, I will play. If not, I am retired.”
If this is Malkin’s final lap, the numbers will place the group in Pittsburgh sports history as well as hockey history. Crosby is set to begin his 22nd season, the longest career for any athlete in the city’s major pro sports. Malkin and Letang will each reach 21 seasons, matching Pirates great Willie Stargell, who played from 1962 through 1982.
General manager Kyle Dubas called the trio’s tenure something that cannot be replicated easily — players lasting that long is uncommon enough, and doing it together with one organization is another level entirely.
Letang said nobody enters the league expecting a full career with one club, let alone alongside the same teammates. The milestones came after the original dream of merely reaching the NHL.
“When you are young, you are just hoping to make the League,” Letang said. “Then you get there, accomplish things with different people, and to spend your whole career with the same organization and the same people is special.”
Still producing, even as the roles change
The Penguins are not carrying their veteran core on reputation alone. Crosby remains Pittsburgh’s first-line center and led the club last season with 29 goals and 45 assists. His 74 points in 68 games kept intact his unmatched run of 21 straight seasons averaging at least one point per game.
Crosby is not looking too far beyond the next shift on the calendar. “I cannot predict how I’ll feel in January, so I’m not going to try,” he said. “I feel pretty good. It’s a long season, and I have to take care of myself as well as I can.”
Malkin posted 19 goals and 42 assists in 56 games, reaching a point-per-game rate for the first time since 2022-23. His season included a move from center to right wing on the second line, along with 26 games missed because of injury and suspension.
Letang’s role has shifted more noticeably. Erik Karlsson has taken over as Pittsburgh’s clear No. 1 defenseman, while Letang has adjusted after producing 64 points in 148 games across the past two seasons. He had 51 points, including 10 goals and 41 assists, in 2023-24.
Even with that decline in production, Letang remains the standard among Penguins defensemen: 1,235 games, 178 goals, 628 assists and 806 points, all club records at the position.
Forward Bryan Rust, preparing for his 13th season in Pittsburgh, said adaptability has been central to the three veterans’ staying power. He pointed to their willingness to accept adjustments, coaching and criticism rather than resist the changes that come with age and an evolving NHL.
The longevity was never assured. Crosby lost significant time after concussion-related issues began in 2011. Malkin has endured multiple right-knee surgeries, beginning with MCL and ACL tears suffered Feb. 4, 2011. Letang survived strokes in 2014 and 2022 and considered retirement after neck surgery in April 2017.
Those setbacks, as much as the Cups and records, have deepened the connection among Pittsburgh’s three constants. “We have gone through a lot of experiences, good and bad,” Crosby said. “When you have been teammates and known each other that long, there is a bond there. We are fortunate to have it.”
