Sidney Crosby Isn’t Ready to Fade - He’s Chasing a Hart Trophy, and Dragging the Penguins with Him
At 38 years old, Sidney Crosby was supposed to be winding things down - not lighting the league on fire.
Coming into the 2025-26 season, the narrative around the Pittsburgh Penguins was clear: aging core, playoff drought, and a roster that looked more like a draft lottery contender than a postseason threat. For some fans, that wasn’t the worst-case scenario. After all, a high draft pick could mean a shot at the next generational talent - a chance to reboot the franchise for the next decade.
But Crosby? He clearly didn’t get the memo.
Instead of fading into the background, the Penguins’ captain has flipped the script. Through 25 games, he’s been nothing short of sensational - 18 goals, 11 assists, and 29 points - and Pittsburgh, sitting at 13-7-5, is clinging to the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
That’s not a fluke. That’s Crosby putting the team on his back.
And Monday night in Philadelphia was just the latest reminder of what he’s still capable of. Two goals, a dominant performance, and a 5-1 win over the Flyers - a team he’s made a career out of tormenting.
He’s now up to 60 goals and 138 points in 92 games against Philly, the most points any player has ever racked up against the Flyers. He’s also scored 29 times in Philadelphia, more than any other visiting player in NHL history.
That’s not just dominance - that’s ownership.
But this isn’t just about Crosby scoring at a point-per-game pace. What’s turning heads is how he’s doing it.
He’s scoring goals - a lot of them - and at a rate we haven’t seen from him since his prime. If he keeps this up, he’s on pace for 59 goals, which would crush his career high of 51 from the 2009-10 season.
That’s not just impressive for a 38-year-old - that’s historic.
And yes, it’s early. The season still has a long way to go.
The Penguins were in a similar spot last year before fading down the stretch. But this version of Crosby feels different.
He’s playing like a man on a mission, not just to get back to the playoffs, but to remind the league exactly who he is.
That brings us to the Hart Trophy conversation - and make no mistake, Crosby is right in the thick of it. If he keeps producing like this and drags Pittsburgh into the postseason, he’ll have a compelling case to become the oldest player in NHL history to win the league MVP.
Sure, he’s got stiff competition. Nathan MacKinnon is off to a monster start in Colorado.
Connor McDavid is doing Connor McDavid things in Edmonton. And the league’s next wave - Macklin Celebrini in San Jose and Connor Bedard in Chicago - are already putting up eye-popping numbers.
But what Crosby is doing at this stage of his career, in this situation, might be the most valuable of all.
Let’s not forget: Crosby has only two Hart Trophies to his name. That’s surprising, given the career he’s had - three Stanley Cups, multiple scoring titles, Olympic golds, and a legacy as one of the greatest to ever lace them up. But the Hart has eluded him more often than not, partly due to voter fatigue and the league's tendency to shift focus to the next shiny object.
This year, though? The narrative is in his favor.
A 38-year-old future Hall of Famer willing a flawed team back into relevance? That’s the kind of story that resonates - and it’s backed up by elite production.
There’s a long road ahead, and the Penguins still have plenty to prove. But if Crosby keeps playing like this, it won’t just be a feel-good story - it’ll be one of the most remarkable seasons of his career.
Next up: a Thursday night clash in Tampa Bay. And if recent history is any indication, Crosby will be ready. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last two decades, it’s this - you count out Sidney Crosby at your own risk.