Sidney Crosby wants to stay. The Pittsburgh Penguins want to keep him.
Done deal, right?
Not quite. Not yet, anyway.
There have yet to be formal negotiations between Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas and CAA Hockey’s Pat Brisson on Crosby’s next contract, multiple team and league sources said. The sources were granted anonymity so they could speak freely about the process.
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Crosby is set to enter the final season of a 12-year, $104.4 million contract he signed on June 28, 2012.
The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement permits players entering the final season of a contract to sign an extension at the start of the new league year. That date is July 1.
Both parties expect a new deal with Crosby will be reached by or not long after that date, the sources said, with contract length and salary cap hit as the major elements still to be worked out.
Crosby, 36, has not decided how long he wants to keep playing. However, his next deal will probably be for multiple seasons.
The Penguins would prefer Crosby to sign a contract that would take him to his eventual retirement, but they are prepared for a short-term deal, team sources said.
Dubas and Brisson have yet to broach the parameters of any new contract, including Crosby’s salary cap hit.
Crosby has counted $8.7 million against the cap on his past two contracts, the previous being a five-year, $43.5 million deal signed on July 7, 2007. He had a $3.7 million cap hit on his entry-level contract.
Last month,The Athletic reported a deal within the vicinity of three years at an average annual value of $10 million could work for Crosby. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote that he predicts two or three seasons at $10.5 million AAV.
Each of Crosby’s three contracts was signed before the NHL and its Players’ Association negotiated rules that prohibit contracts from extending beyond eight seasons for players re-signing with a team. Crosby’s current contract had a heavily front-loaded base salary, paying him $67.8 million over the first six seasons and only $3 million each of the final three seasons.
Without the luxury of significantly lengthening Crosby’s next contract, the Penguins could find themselves in the position of their longtime captain costing more against the cap than at any previous point, even though he would be in his late 30s when the deal kicks in.
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However, with the cap projected to increase substantially for next season and beyond, the percentage of Crosby’s hit against the Penguins’ upper payroll threshold will likely be similar to his previous contracts.
The Penguins would prefer a longer contract with Crosby to ensure he will retire with the franchise and keep his cap hit at or below $8.7 million. His past receptiveness to both points, along with his openness to team-friendly terms, means it’s possible he’ll go that route again. But he’s never taken fewer than five seasons on previous new contracts.
A shorter term would provide Crosby flexibility as he mulls how long he intends to play. A shorter contract also would pressure management to avoid a full rebuild, which Dubas has said is not on the table.
Because of Crosby’s age, a new deal would be designated as a “35-plus contract,” so the Penguins would not benefit from a reduced salary cap hit from front-loading the contract (or pushing a signing bonus to year two or later) if the deal is two years or longer.
Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Penguins, views Crosby as the franchise’s most indispensable asset on and off the ice. Not only does Crosby remain the team’s best player, scoring 42 goals and 94 points while playing in every regular-season game this season, but he attracts increased revenue from national and local sponsorships — including for Sportsnet Pittsburgh, a regional sports network FSG launched this past August.
Negotiations between Dubas and Brisson will focus on particulars — not whether Crosby will re-sign with the Penguins, the sources said.
Crosby has repeatedly said his wish is to retire with the Penguins.
“Yeah, I’ve said that forever,” Crosby told The Athletic in February.
More of what we’re hearing hearing about the Penguins’ offseason plans:
• The Penguins are optimistic Marcus Pettersson will sign a long-term contract this summer, a team source and a source close to Pettersson said.
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Pettersson, 27, has a season remaining on his current contract. He counts $4,025,175, against the cap — a cost the Penguins project will increase by at least $1 million annually on a new deal, the team source said.
• Bryan Rust was told before the NHL trade deadline in March that he will be part of the Penguins going into next season, a league source said.
Multiple teams inquired with Dubas about Rust’s availability before the deadline, but Dubas opted against trading Rust because he was set to move Jake Guentzel.
Rust has one more season with a no-movement clause.
• Guentzel did not leave the Penguins on the best of terms. He was particularly agitated by a perceived lack of forthright communication from Dubas, a source close to Guentzel said.
However, Guentzel would not deny Dubas an opportunity to pitch him on a potential return to Pittsburgh if Guentzel tests free agency in July. Guentzel’s fondness for the Penguins supersedes any ill feelings toward Dubas, said a team source and a source close to Guentzel.
Still, Guentzel reuniting with the Penguins was described by one source as “a long shot” because “he’s loving it in Carolina, and (the Hurricanes) feel the same.”
• The Penguins are operating as though goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will have better offers in free agency than they can afford in an attempt to retain his services, a team source and a source close to Nedeljkovic said.
Dubas hinted last Friday the Penguins are comfortable going into next season with Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist as their goaltending tandem.
• Dubas engaged with multiple teams about forward Reilly Smith going into the trade deadline, but he found no takers because Smith wasn’t on an expiring contract. That will change once the new league year starts, and Dubas expects a more favorable market for Smith, a team source and a source close to Smith said.
(Photo of Sidney Crosby: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
