Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby became the 21st player in NHL history to record 600 career goals with a milestone power-play tally on Saturday against the Utah Hockey Club.

Crosby joins Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin as the only active players to hit the 600-goal milestone.

He also joins Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic and Bobby Hull as the seventh NHL player to score 600 goals for a single franchise.

The goal, which marked Crosby's eighth of the season, was a sharp-angle tally on an assist from Erik Karlsson that cut visiting Utah's lead to 2-1.

Crosby was standing at the same spot beside the goal line when he scored his 500th career goal during a power play against the Philadelphia Flyers in February 2022.

Both milestones were met with a standing ovation at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins are now the second team in history to have two 600-goal scorers with Crosby and Lemieux. The Detroit Red Wings previously saw both Howe and Yzerman hit the milestone.

"It means a lot, obviously been here for a long time. To be able to do it at home, and have another memory with so many others, family here, it's special," Crosby said after the milestone on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast.

Crosby can now continue climbing the list of the most goals scored with a single franchise. Five more goals will move him past the Chicago Blackhawks' Bobby Hull for the sixth on the list.

The Penguins center meanwhile needs two more goals to move past Jari Kurri and crack the top 20 on the NHL's all-time goalscoring leaderboard.

This isn't the first time Crosby has celebrated a milestone this season. He recorded the 1,600th point of his career during an Oct. 16 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres to become the 10th player in NHL history to clear the milestone.

Crosby already headed into the season with Jaromir Jagr for the fifth-most playoff points in NHL history with 201 in 180 career postseason games.

Through the first 22 games of the 2024-25 campaign, Crosby has gone through multiple goalscoring droughts as the Penguins struggled to a 7-11-4 start.

Since scoring career goal No. 599 against the San Jose Sharks last Saturday, Crosby was held off the scoreboard in an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and regulation loss to the Winnipeg Jets before getting the chance to reach the milestone.

Crosby signed a two-year extension in September that is set to keep him in Pittsburgh through his age-39 season in 2026-27. He holds the all-time franchise record with 1,295 games played for the Penguins.

Hockey legend Jaromír Jágr intends to retire from playing professional hockey after his current season with HC Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga concludes.

Jágr confirmed the news to Rob Rossi of The Athletic on Thursday over the phone. Two days earlier, in a Czech-language post on his Instagram account, Jágr referred to his "last season." Jágr notably owns HC Rytíři Kladno, his hometown team.

Jágr played in the NHL from 1990-2004, 2005-2008 and then again from 2011-2018. He played for nine NHL teams but is best known for his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1990-2001. Jágr won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins in his first two seasons.

He also won all five of his Art Ross Trophies (most points in the NHL) and his 1998-99 Hart Trophy (MVP) in Pittsburgh too.

Jágr last made an NHL appearance on Dec. 31, 2017, when he was nearing his 46th birthday in Feb. 2018. The eight-time All-Star capped his NHL career with 766 goals and 1,155 assists for 1,921 points. He's fourth in goals, fifth in assists and second in points all time.

The Penguins retired his No. 68 jersey last February, but he's kept playing for Kladno ever since leaving the NHL, suiting up for 151 games over the past eight years. He got an assist in Kladno's 2024-25 season opener.

A place in the Hockey Hall of Fame awaits Jágr someday, but a player has to have been retired for at least three years from playing professional hockey before consideration.

It looks like that clock will start after this season, however, as the legend looks ready to hang up the skates after a phenomenal career.

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $8.7 million per season to keep him in the Steel City through the 2026-27 campaign.

The 37-year-old has been a staple in the Pittsburgh lineup since being selected first overall in the 2005 NHL draft, so his latest deal with the franchise comes as little surprise.

Through 1,272 games with the Penguins, Crosby has notched 592 goals and 1,004 assists for 1,596 points. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Hart Trophy winner, two-time Art Ross winner and two-time Rocket Richard winner.

That said, the Penguins having struggled over the last few seasons, so there was some concern that Crosby would sign elsewhere, perhaps with a team that would give him a better chance to win another Stanley Cup.

The eight-time All-Star appeared in 82 games for the Penguins last season, recording 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points.

Despite his efforts, the Penguins still missed the postseason as the team finished the 2023-24 season fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 38-32-12 record.

Now that he's staying in Pittsburgh, Crosby will continue to be the focal point of the Penguins offense.

Rumors of a Rutger McGroarty (drafted 14th overall in 2022) trade were going around as early as the NHL Draft back in June when it was confirmed by Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff that forward McGroarty had no intention of signing with the Jets.

When no trade materialized, the assumption became that McGroarty would return to the University of Michigan for his junior season. However, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager (drafted 14th overall in 2023), he immediately signed his entry-level contract with the Penguins.

People like to talk about trades in terms of winners and losers. Looking at it through that lens, it could be argued that the Penguins are the clear winners here. Contrary to what more extreme discussions would have you believe, that doesn't make the trade a loss for the Jets.

They were in a tough spot with McGroarty refusing to sign, and, per remarks from Cheveldayoff, not giving a specific reason other than that it "didn't feel right". When this happens with NCAA players, lack of leverage makes it difficult for teams to get any significant return for the player. Sometimes, they have to let the player walk for nothing after they finish their college career. The Jets getting Yager, who has potential, is a relative win in a difficult situation.

Bottom line? The Penguins got something they needed: a sharp young forward who can contribute now. The Jets also got something they needed: a promising young forward who, while having a longer development runway than the player they traded away, is lightyears better than no asset.

Let's look at the players themselves.

What the Penguins Get in McGroarty

"A winger for Crosby" was the eternal refrain for Penguins fans for a long time. With the rise of Jake Guentzel, it seemed like those days were over. Guentzel's departure made it appear as though those dark times were returning—but with the acquisition of McGroarty, that's no longer the case. Now this, of course, does not mean that McGroarty is locked in to play with Crosby. But he's a young, highly skilled forward.

So he's probably going to end up playing with Crosby.

Regardless of the line he plays on, there's a lot for Penguins fans to look forward to about McGroarty. At 6'1" and 200 pounds, McGroarty has size; more importantly, he knows how to use that size effectively. When discussing the trade, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas called out his "ability, leadership, and competitiveness". McGroarty has all of those things in spades. In addition to being a Hobey Baker nominee, he also snagged spots on the All-Big Ten first team and the All-Big Ten tournament team during his time at Michigan.

One of the most important things to know about Rutger McGroarty is that he is a shark around the net. He's got stellar shooting ability, great instincts, and the ability to use his size to negate defensive play by his opponents, making space for himself instead. At his best, he's relentless, particularly on the forecheck, and his anticipation makes for excellent scoring opportunities.

A longstanding theory of mine is that to be successful next to Sidney Crosby, a player has to have a specific kind of complementary skill. Call it the Kunitz effect; it refers to guys who become more useful next to elite players because they know how to use their skill to elevate the opportunities those players create. We've seen that from McGroarty with guys like Frank Nazar and Gavin Brindley, teammates of his at the University of Michigan.

There's no reason to think he couldn't also do it with Crosby or Malkin.

The biggest concern about McGroarty's game, particularly leading up to his draft year, has been his skating. His skating mechanics are, to put it bluntly, not great, and his posture could do with some work as well. His speed and edge work suffer because of his mechanical issues, which can give him trouble when it comes to keeping up with speedier teammates. Fortunately, he's seen some improvement in that area; whether he improves more remains to be seen, though the amount is likely limited by the fact that he's probably done growing.

His strengths have become stronger to compensate, which is ideal when you're working to shape a player's game—you'd always prefer to bolster their strengths rather than focus on weaknesses—but skating mobility is a significant weakness in today's game. It's a good thing he's a vulture around the net.

What the Jets Get In Yager

Brayden Yager, a two-way center who has repeatedly showcased his scoring ability at the junior level, has the potential to be a good player. That being said, he was also a bit overrated by Penguins fans and pundits.

That's understandable; for a time, Yager was the only prospect of his caliber in the Penguins' system. Recent additions to that prospect pool made him more expendable, but he's still the same player who had 95 points in 57 games last season and was a WHL champion.

Yager is the kind of player who, on his best nights, frustrates opponents with difficult-to-stop shots and passes alike. He's a good skater and reads the ice well, knowing where he needs to be to be most effective and ensuring he gets there. He brings a combination of playmaking and scoring abilities, rather than leaning into one or the other, and he feasts on the power play. It's this last part that can be both a strength and a weakness for him.

A significant concern about Yager's game is whether he can drive play on his own. That's always something you want to see from a center, especially one who people want to project as a top or middle-six player. He's got the playmaking skills, he's got good forechecking abilities. But before we project who he is going to be as a player at the NHL level, it feels important that we see another WHL season from him—one where he is expected to push play himself, and in particular where he cannot lean on former Warriors teammate Denton Mateychuk (CBJ prospect), who will likely spend the upcoming season with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters.

While Yager will probably make a good impression at the Jets' training camp, he is unlikely to see any significant time in the NHL this season. That's for the best, as noted above. He'll also probably need some time in the AHL after his WHL career ends, before he's ready for full-time duty with the Jets. That's a perfectly reasonable development path and one that the Jets can allow him to take. The Penguins didn't have that luxury; they needed someone ready now, and they got him. At the end of the day, this was one of those rare pure hockey trades that benefits both sides.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are "closing in" on an extension for team captain Sidney Crosby, The Athletic's Rob Rossi reported.

Sources told Rossi that "team and player are confident a deal will be agreed upon and formalized soon."

Crosby is currently set to hit free agency after the 2024-25 season, but Rossi emphasized that the Penguins "never discussed" trading him or allowing him to hit free agency.

The reason an extension was not agreed to earlier this offseason was because Crosby wanted Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas "to address other offseason matters— specifically, potential trades and free-agent signings" first, Rossi reported.

Crosby, who turns 37 in August, last signed a 12-year contract worth $8.7 million per year in 2012. He scored 42 goals while adding 52 assists for 94 points in 82 games last season.

The Penguins have so far only made small adjustments in free agency by adding veteran forwards like Kevin Hayes, Anthony Beauvillier and Blake Lizotte and moving on from winger Reilly Smith after he was unable to click with Evgeni Malkin last season.

Crosby may have wanted Dubas to focus on these lineup adjustments, but the Penguins ultimately have no offseason priorities higher than re-signing the player who has led the franchise for 19 seasons.

Not only has Crosby remained a consistent point-per-game producer and one of the most reliable two-way centers in the NHL through two decades, but his role anchoring Pittsburgh's top line allows Malkin to slot in behind him on the second. That has given the Penguins a top six forward group that has remained a perennial threat even as the team's depth thinned since their last Stanley Cup run in 2017.

To consider trading Crosby would mean undergoing a full rebuild and aiming for a tumble to the bottom of the standings and a top draft pick.

With Crosby re-signed at least through the 2025-26 season alongside Malkin and defensive stars Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, the Penguins will instead be attempting to once more make the playoffs next spring after two near misses over the last two seasons.

Crosby's extension will likely mean more than just him playing out the next two seasons with the Penguins. Rossi reported that sources say Crosby "reaffirmed to Dubas what he has repeatedly stated publicly— that he wants to finish his career with the Penguins."

Rossi reported that a team and league source called the upcoming deal "a commitment to Pittsburgh."

Crosby, the No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft, leads all active players with 1,596 points and 1,004 assists.

After joining Wayne Gretzky this spring as the only NHL players to ever record at least one point per game for 19 seasons, it sounds like Crosby will remain in Pittsburgh as he looks to set a league record with his 20th point-per-game campaign in 2024-25.

Former NHL great Jaromír Jágr became the oldest player to take regular shifts in professional ice hockey on Thursday.

Jágr made his first appearance since turning 52 on Thursday, breaking legend Gordie Howe's record. Howe made his final professional hockey appearance when he was 52 years, 11 days old in 1980. He also suited up for a single shift with the Detroit Vipers in the International Hockey League at age 69 in 1997.

Jágr, who had a 24-year NHL career, rejoined the Kladno Knights in the Czech Republic for the first time since Feb. 10. In his first appearance back on the ice, he scored a goal to give the Knights a 1-0 lead 1:59 into the second game of a playoff relegation series against Vsetin.

Kladno won the game 7-2, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Jágr's final NHL appearance came in the 2017-18 season when he played for the Calgary Flames. He had a goal and six assists that year in 22 appearances.

Jágr spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who retired his jersey earlier this year. During the early stages of his career, he helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992, becoming one of the youngest players in NHL history to score in a Stanley Cup game at age 20.

The 13-time All-Star ended his career with 766 goals in 1,733 NHL games played. While he had a storied NHL career, he's still breaking records at age 52.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is still performing at a high level at 36 years old, and he continues to garner respect from his peers.

Crosby was voted the NHL's most complete player in the annual NHLPA poll released Wednesday. He's won the honor in all five years that the Players' Association voted on the category.

Crosby received 38.4 percent of the votes, beating out Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers (14.6 percent) by a wide margin.

A total of 639 NHLPA members participated in the poll this season, which is the ninth time it has been conducted. Players from all 32 teams were surveyed anonymously during the first half of the regular season.

Crosby also finished second (13.6 percent) to Ryan O'Reilly of the Nashville Predators (14.5 percent) in "the player you'd most want to take a faceoff on your team."

He also finished second but well behind Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid as "the forward you'd want on your team if you needed to win one game," earning 11.6 percent of the votes to McDavid's 48.7 percent.

Behind Crosby's leadership, the Penguins are 36-30-12 this season. Pittsburgh remains in the hunt for a wild-card spot as the regular season winds down.

For a full list of results from the 2023-24 NHLPA Player Poll, click here.

Pittsburgh Penguins fans will get their Jaromír Jágr bobbleheads after all.

The team announced Monday that the truckload of stolen bobbleheads was located and secured, and it has plans to distribute them during Pittsburgh's April 6 home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and on April 7.

While the bobbleheads—which were initially supposed to be handed out for the March 14 game against the San Jose Sharks—were stolen, the team's announcement explained "a special cargo recovery team negotiated the return of the stolen property to a secure warehouse located in Ontario, California. The truckload arrived in Pittsburgh today."

It won't be as simple as handing the bobbleheads to fans who enter the gates for the April 6 game, though, considering those who attended the March 14 contest may have done so with the expectation of receiving the promotional item.

With that in mind, Pittsburgh's announcement said those fans with a bobblehead voucher from the March 14 game and tickets to the April 6 contest can redeem the voucher inside the stadium to receive the item.

Those who have a voucher but do not have tickets to the April 6 game can receive their bobblehead during a drive-thru pick-up at PPG Paints Arena on April 7.

The situation generated plenty of headlines prior to this resolution.

"We were shocked to be a victim of cargo theft, and we are working closely with local and federal authorities on the investigation," Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin said in the team's previous announcement about the stolen merchandise.

"While this unfortunate incident adds to the legend of Jaromír Jágr, who will be in attendance as our guest at tonight's game, we look forward to resolving this theft and delivering the prized Jágr bobbleheads to their rightful homes, with our fans."

That announcement also explained the shipment of bobbleheads was stolen after arriving in California.

It was certainly a twist to the Penguins' continued planned celebration of the legendary player, who had his number retired by the team earlier this season.

Jágr played the first 11 seasons of his NHL career in Pittsburgh from 1990 to 2001. He also played for the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames during his lengthy 24-year career.

But his best days came in a Penguins uniform, as he was a two-time Stanley Cup champion, nine-time All-Star, five-time Art Ross Trophy winner and one-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner during his 11 seasons.

In total, Jágr played 1,733 regular-season games and tallied 766 goals and 1,155 assists for 1,921 points during his career. Wayne Gretzky (2,857) is the only player in NHL history with more total points.

Russian hockey team Salavat Yulaev Ufa announced Tuesday that former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Konstantin Koltsov died at the age of 42.

Per CNN's George Ramsay, Salavat Yulaev released the following statement regarding Koltsov, who had been serving as an assistant coach for the KHL club:

"It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that the coach of Salavat Yulaev, Konstantin Koltsov, passed away. He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues, fans. Konstantin Evgenievich forever written himself in the history of our club."

Per ESPN, the Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement sent to Reuters that Koltsov died of an apparent suicide. Police and the fire department responded to a call early Monday morning regarding a man jumping off a balcony, and no foul play is suspected.

Koltsov, who had been dating Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka since 2021, was a first-round pick by the Penguins in the 1999 NHL draft and played three seasons for the team.

After making his NHL debut during the 2002-03 season and appearing in two games that year, Koltsov played two more campaigns for the Pens in 2003-04 and 2005-06.

His most productive NHL season came in 2003-04 when he appeared in all 82 games and set career marks across the board with nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points.

Overall, he registered 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points in 144 career NHL contests.

Following the 2005-06 season, Koltsov began playing professionally in Russia. He spent six seasons with Salavat Yulaev, three with Moscow Oblast Atlant, one with Kazan Ak-Bars and one with Dinamo Minsk before retiring in 2016.

In addition to his professional career, Koltsov represented Belarus in the Winter Olympics in both 2002 and 2010, and in the World Hockey Championships on numerous occasions.

Prior to coaching Salavat Yulaev, Koltsov spent time on the coaching staffs at Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Molodechno and Spartak Moskva, as well as the Belarusian national team.