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Sidney Crosby will end his professional hockey career with an induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame when he eventually retires. Until then, the 36-year-old is dragging the Pittsburgh Penguins to the finish line, with the Stanley Cup playoffs on the other side.
After a lackluster season, the Penguins are on the verge of missing the playoffs for just the third time in Crosby's career. On Dec. 1, the team was 11-10-1 with 23 points, two out of a playoff spot in the jam-packed Eastern Conference.
Things were worse on Feb. 5, the day after the All-Star weekend, when the Penguins were 22-17-7 with 51 points, seven points back of a wildcard spot. Surprisingly, the situation spiraled out of control as late as Mar. 25, when they compiled a 30-30-10 record for 70 points, nine points back of the final playoff spot.
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However, ahead of their contest on Monday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Crosby and the Penguins are one point behind the Detroit Red Wings with five games to play. On Saturday, after an inspiring win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh held the final wildcard spot before losing it on Sunday.
Despite all the ups and downs and the fact the Penguins traded away Jake Guentzel, Crosby has still gone on to compile his 19th season of at least a point-per-game pace. He only needs five points in the final five contests to reach 90 points for the eighth time in his career.
Based on his performance throughout the season, no one talks about Crosby as a Hart Trophy candidate, focusing on Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. Here are three reasons he shouldn't passed over as the league's MVP.
3 reasons why Sidney Crosby is a dark horse for the Hart Trophy
#1. Oldest player in the NHL with 40 goals this season
In 2009-10, when he was 22 years old, Crosby had his best goal-scoring season, collecting 51 lamplighters to lead the league in the category. Seven years later, he netted 44 to earn just his second career 40-goal season.
Fast forward to 2023-24, and Crosby just became the oldest player (36) in the NHL to score 40 goals this season. The next oldest player with 40 or more goals is Jonathan Marchessault (Vegas Golden Knights), who is 33.
By scoring his 40th goal after his 36th birthday, he became the only 7th player and second active behind Alex Ovechkin to reach that plateau. The other skaters on the list are all Hall of Famers, including Gordie Howe, Johnny Bucyk, Teemu Selanne, Phil Esposito and Brendan Shanahan.
#2. Crosby leads the NHL's 19th-ranked offense
After 77 games, Crosby is about to play his second consecutive season without missing a game, which would be the first time in his illustrious career. As the Penguins' leading scorer with 85 points, he will not surpass 100 points, which is the figure only eight other skaters have earned so far.
Even though he maintains a 23-point lead over Evgeni Malkin in team scoring, he is the only skater with more than 30 goals and 40 assists, which separates him from his teammates.
He may not maintain a 30-point scoring gap like Kucherov or Artemi Panarin (New York Rangers), but Crosby has scored 85 points on a Penguins team with just 235 goals, ranking 19th overall.
On top of being Pittsburgh's top scorer, he would be the leading scorer on 21 other teams, and a top three scorer on 31 teams, except the Vancouver Canucks.
#3. The Penguins could be the Cinderella team of 2024
They always say, "All you need to do is get in." Last season, the Florida Panthers qualified for the playoffs on the season's final day, overcoming the Penguins, and wound up in the Stanley Cup Final. It was indeed one of the most surprising playoff runs of all time.
Although the Penguins don't inject fear into any opponent, they have been playing playoff hockey for weeks and will be primed to take on any higher seed in the first round. Realistically, those teams have been on cruise control for a while and could fall to a scrappy team with nothing to lose.
Crosby is a grizzled veteran with vast experience in pressure games, whether it's the Stanley Cup playoffs, World Cup or Olympics games. Considering his teammates would do almost anything to get him another championship, they could be the most feared team in the playoffs if they continue to ride their current momentum.
Overall, the PHWA voters may go in a different direction regarding their choice for the Hart Trophy, but he will finish in the top 10 for voting whether or not the Penguins qualify for the playoffs. As one of the greatest players ever to play in the league, it wouldn't be surprising if he finished in the top five or even in the top three, depending on how the next five games play out.
