37 years old: Sidney Crosby, the eternal wonder

For 19 incredible years, Pittsburgh Penguins fans have had the privilege of watching one of the greatest players of all time strap 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 no different from the 18-year-old who took the league by storm after being Drafted first overall by the Penguins in 2005.

It has been repeated many times that Crosby, now 37, managed to surpass Father Time. At his age, the vast majority of NHL players—even The Great One himself, who saw a sharp decline in health and production after age 32 – begin to succumb to age and see your ability continually diminish.

But not Crosby. In fact, in many ways, the exact opposite appears to be happening in many facets of your game. As we recently discussed, your speed is increasing with age. Your metrics – and in particular your 5v5 metrics — are the best since 2014. And their season-adjusted production has essentially been a straight line since 2014 — aside from two standout campaigns in 2016-17 and 2018-19 — showing no decline over a decade:

His health also seems to defy age. Crosby played two consecutive 82-game seasons — and he only did it once more during his career in 2017-18. This is not the case for most athletes in general, who seem to play less and less as they enter the later years of their careers.

But then again, not Crosby. Not Sid the Kid, who apparently still plays at the same level and with the same energy as a child. This “boy” has already entered the top 10 of all time in scoring, is competing for sole possession of the all-time points-per-game record for the 2024-25 seasonand there are still many other milestones to be achieved, with some of them expected for this season:

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

While Pittsburgh eagerly awaits the contract extension announcement which will hopefully make Crosby a penguin for life, the hockey world continues to celebrate the ageless wonder who continues to exceed its otherworldly expectations and defy any doubts that he will solidify his place among the best to ever play the game. 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 Surprise You

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