Since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005, Sidney Crosby has regularly been looked at as one of the best players in the NHL.
As the hockey world looks towards the 2022-23 season, the Penguins captain is still seen as an elite level talent.
Despite turning 35-years-old in a league getting flooded with youthful talent, the NHL Network ranked Crosby as the seventh best player right now.
Heading into his 18th professional season, Crosby is looking to build on his 84 points in 2021-22, and looking to win a postseason round for the first time since 2019.
“The window is still open for them,” NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes said. “Why not Pittsburgh? I think they have a lot of pieces still.”
The main piece in the equation is Crosby and as long as he’s on the team, the Penguins have a chance to win.
Through his first 17 seasons, Crosby has never had a season under a point-per-game; one of his most underrated stats as that number ties Gordie Howe for second longest run of all time.
While NHL Network continues to sing the praises of Crosby, TSN doesn’t see it the same way.
TSN also ranked the top 50 NHL players right now, but pushed Crosby all the way to 11th.
While it is still in the upper echelon of players across the league, the TSN analysts backed up their placement by citing the “stage of his career.”
If there’s one player who can continue to fend off Father Time and remain elite well past the age of 30, it’s going to be Crosby.
Not that rankings like these put a chip on his shoulder, but Crosby is competitive enough to battle Connor McDavid for that top spot.
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