History was made in more than one way when the Pittsburgh Penguins took the ice for their season-opener on Thursday night.
The first game for the Pens marked the beginning of year number 18 in the NHL for Sidney Crosby. While Pittsburgh fans obviously love their current captain, there is a former Pittsburgh captain that stands between Sid and the “greatest Penguin of all-time” designation.
Mario Lemieux personifies the Penguins, having led them to two championships as a player and three as one of the owners of the franchise. Number 66 legitimately saved the Penguins, but even with all that he’s accomplished, he didn’t do what Sidney Crosby has now done.
No player has played more seasons for the Penguins than Crosby.
Mario Lemieux played in 17 seasons during his remarkable career, but now Crosby has played in 18, which, as of Thursday night, is a new Pittsburgh record.
Sid has long been the team’s leader in games played, but now his tenure with the team that drafted him first overall in 2005 has spanned more seasons than any one player’s tenure in franchise history.
Crosby is the gift that keeps on giving for Penguins fans, and he delivered the team’s first goal of the 2022-2023 season, 1:22 into Thursday’s game.
Fun fact: Sidney Crosby has 30 points (12G-18A) in 21 career games against the Coyotes. pic.twitter.com/RU3Qb0WRfC
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 13, 2022
Of course, beginning season 18 wasn’t the only record that the Penguins captain was a part of when his team welcomed the Arizona Coyotes to town.
Forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang began their 17th seasons in the Steel City, and no NHL trio has ever played that many years together.
In fact, the New York Yankees are the only other North American professional team to have three players play 17 campaigns together.
What Crosby, Malkin, and Letang have accomplished together with the Penguins is truly remarkable. As a Pens fan, it is easy to take these three for granted, but Pittsburgh fans and hockey fans alike should take notice of how impressive this 17-year (and counting) run has been.
There was major speculation that Malkin, Letang, or both would be wearing different uniforms this year, but Pittsburgh ensured that that didn’t happen.
Are the Penguins Stanley Cup favorites as a result? No. But, they’ll have an opportunity to contend, and for as long as 87, 71, and 58 are on the ice to wow us, Penguins fans should consider themselves to be some of the luckiest fans in hockey.