Coming off four straight first round playoff exits and five consecutive series losses, and with an aging group of accomplished players around him, Sidney Crosby’s goal is still the same.
“I just want to win,” Crosby said Friday on the Penguins’ second day of training camp.
Winning, overall, hasn’t been too much of an issue with Crosby’s Penguins the last few years. Since taking home consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, Pittsburgh has gone 214-119-38 over the previous five regular seasons.
But in the playoffs, the Penguins have faltered, including an early exit this year after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the New York Rangers.
“You got to learn from it,” Crosby said. “We feel like we didn't close out the Rangers and that probably left a sour taste for everyone. So I think (we have) a chance to start fresh and learn from that and be better for it.”
Just a few months ago, many expected Crosby to be sitting in a locker room at this training camp with some unfamiliar surroundings, feeling that Pittsburgh’s management might disassemble the core of the team a bit.
Instead, general manager Ron Hextall re-signed veterans Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, as well as Bryan Rust. He also gave head coach Mike Sullivan — an architect of those two Cup wins — a lengthy contract extension.
“We've been through a lot together, and I know how competitive they are,” Crosby said of Malkin and Letang. “I know they want to win. And I think that playing with guys that long, you build trust, you build belief.
“You go through good times and bad times, and I think you learn from one another. So going through all that together and knowing how they are as people, those are guys you want to compete with, you want to win with.”
Behind the scenes, it’s been rumored that Crosby made a push for Hextall to bring back Malkin and Letang. With a new ownership group in Fenway Sports Group, as well as Hextall — on the job since February 2021 — the report that Crosby perhaps had with his old bosses might not be the same.
Crosby, who registered 84 points in 69 games last season, eluded to that, saying that open lines of communication between management and players — even ones as intertwined to the team’s success as history as he is — takes time.
Nevertheless, it seems management went along with his preference to keep the band together.
“I've always just tried to worry about playing,” he said. “I think everybody kind of has their own job to worry about, and that takes up a lot of their time. Ownership has done a great job, and I think that, as players, all you can ask for is every opportunity to win and every resource, and we've been given that.
“As far as communication, I think that's just something that I guess maybe you develop over time, but it's not something that's necessarily a given all the time,” he said. “I think it's dependent upon each team, each situation.”
Crosby’s success in Pittsburgh’s pro sports history is just about unrivaled. He’s been the catalyst for three championships and, without him, the possibility of the franchise even being located in Pittsburgh anymore would be in some doubt.
But, at 35, the window to win it all isn’t exactly fully open anymore. But Hextall clearly agreed that this core might just have at least one more run left in it. And Crosby is ready to run with that, with his long-time pals in Letang and Malkin right by his side.
“If they believe that's what's conducive to winning, then I think that's what we're all in for,” Crosby said. “I think it's always been about winning.
“It's not about, necessarily, the Cinderella story. It's about winning hockey games. I think those guys play a big part in that, and hopefully we can all collectively, as a group, do our part and help team win.”
Oh, and those concerns about Crosby’s age? Well, he doesn’t share them.
“I didn't really worry what age I was at 18,” he said. “I’m not going to start at 35.”