Sidney Crosby isn't chasing one last big payday. The Penguins star appears content to take his future one season at a time.
That was the read Friday from Josh Yohe, who addressed why the 39-year-old still hasn't signed a new deal in Pittsburgh.
“My sense is that this isn't related to the direction of the team,” Yohe wrote. “I don't believe Crosby has any interest in playing elsewhere.”
The real sticking point is term. Yohe doesn't think No. 87 wants a deal “that would ultimately be for more years than he feels he can play at a high level.”
“I believe him when he says he is taking things year-by-year at this stage of his career,” Yohe added.
And that's the most on-brand move of his career. No bloated term, no dead cap years waiting for Kyle Dubas down the road, just a player who refuses to become the problem.
It's the hockey version of renewing a lease every summer instead of signing a mortgage you might not be around to finish.
Penguins face a back-to-back in Vegas with Crosby's clock running
The production hasn't vanished. He has five points through eight games this season.
But the underlying numbers hint at the grind. He's a -4 overall and went minus-5 over his last five games.
Friday's 5-2 loss in Colorado followed a familiar script. He still logged 19:46 and picked up an assist, but Pittsburgh dropped its second straight.
That leaves the Penguins sixth in the Metropolitan Division at 3-4-1, with an even goal differential to show for it.
He's hardly the only one in the late-career lane. Evgeni Malkin is 40. Kristopher Letang is 39.
That's a core aging in real time, and a year-to-year approach from No. 87 gives Dubas room to reshape it around younger pieces like Benjamin Kindel.
Is this the beginning of the end? Probably. But a year-by-year Crosby also means every summer turns into a referendum on whether he comes back at all.
Dan Muse's group plays in Las Vegas tonight on the second half of a back-to-back, then heads to Utah on Monday.
Nobody in Pittsburgh is asking where Crosby finishes his career. The harder question is how many more Octobers the Penguins get before he decides it's time.
Should the Penguins give Sidney Crosby only one-year deals for the rest of his career?
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