PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Penguins fans know, or should know, how fortunate they have been to have decades of superstars in black and gold. Mario Lemieux to Jaromir Jagr to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Reflections come when milestones are achieved. There is no sign from Sidney Crosby that he's thought about how much longer he has. The 46th member of the 500-goal club is 34-years-old.
"The players like that, they are few and far between, the elite of the elite," AT&T Sportsnet Pens analyst Jay Caufield told the Cook and Joe Show. "When their skills start to diminish where they are not doing the things they were used to doing. They will probably have to make a hard decision."
Caufield doesn't believe that's imminent, he believes Crosby could easily play into his 40s.
"A guy like Sid, if he continues to enjoy the game energy-wise," NHL on TNT host Rick Tocchet told the Fan Morning Show. "If Sid loves that part, the energy part and he is winning. I think he keeps playing for another four-five years. He could play until he's 40 no problem, just the way he trains and thinks the game."
There are NHL superstar examples of guys leaving early and hanging on too long.
Bobby Orr, Ken Dryden and Mike Bossy all retired at 31. Mario Lemieux was forced to retire early, but able to come back later.
There are several who waited past their prime
· Martin Brodeur—a dominant goalie with the Devils leading the NHL in wins 9 times. He had his worst three save percentage seasons in his last three years & retired at age 42 after 7 games with St. Louis in 2014.
· Grant Fuhr—last 3 seasons with St.
Louis and Calgary, save percentage under .900 and in the final season with Calgary, .856 save percentage and demoted to minors
· Chris Chelios—never a big points guy, but in his final four seasons—175 games, 3 goals and 20 assists—had no points in his last 35 games
· Paul Coffey—a dynamic goal scorer and impact player, Coffey did have 11 goals in 69 games in 1999-00 with Carolina, but the two years prior—four goals in 111 games and his final season, no goals in 18 games with Boston
· Sergei Gonchar—after 416 points with Washington, 259 points in 5 years with Pens—last 3 seasons 6 total goals. His last year with Montreal, 45 games, 1 goal
Stanley Cup respect
Both Caufield and Tocchet won Stanley Cups with the Penguins. Caufield has witnessed most of Crosby's games while working as a television analyst, while Tocchet has coached Crosby and coached against him.
"I can't say enough about the guy," Tocchet said. "You can never tell if he scores his 500th goal or if he had a bad game. He's a very consistent guy. I think Mike Sullivan said it best, he represents what is great about hockey and the NHL."
"He comes in with all of the heat on him and then sees it through," Caufield said of expectations of Crosby from his first shift as the Pens number one overall pick. "Championships, Olympics, the best player in the game, every year, year-in and year-out. That's when you know you got somebody. There are certainly a lot of players who were projected and couldn't do it."
"People stared at him since he was a kid, every time he stepped on the ice, every level he went through. He handled it with the grace and drive that he showed Tuesday night."
Both former players bemoaned lost opportunities for Crosby due to injury, each telling 93.7 The Fan the numbers would be far more impressive if not for the multiple concussions and other ailments. There is also the way Crosby plays.
"I'm not disrespecting other great players, if Sid really wanted to have 600 goals he could have," Tocchet told 93.7 The Fan. "Change his game, cheat the game a little bit. I don't want to disrespect the guys that have scored a lot of goals, because they are great players. Sid has refined his game to win championships. He won three Stanley Cups."
"He takes a lot of D-zone faceoffs. Some very offensive players, they are on the offensive draw all the time. You watch Sid, he takes a ton of D-zone faceoffs. That's a wear-and-tear with winning hockey. I really believe Sid could have had another 200-300 points if he wanted to cheat the game."
His team in first place in the Metropolitan Division, Crosby leads the Pens at Toronto Thursday night.
