37 Years Young: Sidney Crosby, the Ageless Wonder

For 19 incredible years, Pittsburgh Penguins fans have had the privilege to watch one of the greatest players of all time lace ’em up, take the ice, and dominate the league.

And all 19 years later – on his birthday, or, as Pittsburgh calls it, “Sidney Crosby Day” – it’s almost as if Crosby is hardly any different from the 18-year-old that took the league by storm after he was drafted first overall by the Penguins in 2005.

It’s been repeated many times over that Crosby, now 37, has managed to outrun Father Time. By his age, the vast majority of NHL players – even The Great One himself, who saw a steep decline in health and production after age 32 – start succumbing to age and see their ability decline steadily.

But not Crosby. In fact, in a lot of ways, the exact opposite seems to be happening in many facets of his game. As we discussed recently, his speed is increasing with age. His metrics – and, in particular, his 5v5 metrics – are the best they’ve been since 2014. And his era-adjusted production has essentially been a straight line since 2014 – aside from two standout campaigns in 2016-17 and 2018-19 – showing no decline whatsoever over the course of a decade:

His health also seems to be defying age. Crosby has played two straight 82-game seasons – and he had only done this one other time during his career in 2017-18. This is not the case for most athletes in general, who seem to play less and less frequently as they enter the waning years of their careers.

But, again, not Crosby. Not Sid the Kid, who is, seemingly, still playing with at the same level and with the same energy as a kid. This “kid” has already entered the top-10 all-time in scoring, is vying for sole possession of the all-time points-per-game season record in 2024-25, and still has many more milestones to hit, with some of them expected to come this season:

Currently sitting at 592 goals and 1,596 points, Crosby will, presumably, enter both the 600-goal club and 1,600-point club this season. There’s also a good chance he’ll surpass Joe Sakic 1,641 points for ninth on the all-time list.

As Pittsburgh eagerly awaits the announcement of a contract extension that will, hopefully, make Crosby a Penguin for life, the hockey world continues to celebrate the ageless wonder who continues to exceed his otherworldly expectations and defy any doubts of him solidifying his place among the very best to ever play the game.

So here’s to many more years of elite hockey, and – hopefully – more jaw-dropping individual plays like this:

And more of these:

Happy Birthday, 87.

Related: Analyzing Crosby’s Chance at 2,000 Points

Related: Five Random Sidney Crosby Stats That Will Blow Your Mind

Related: Five reasons to be optimistic about the Penguins in 2024-25