NHL Network Honours Two Penguins on Quarter-Century Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins may be in a transitional period right now as the careers of longtime franchise mainstays Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, along with Kris Letang, begin to wind down.

But the accomplishments of Crosby and Malkin are being recognized by NHL Network, as both players were named to their Quarter Century Team; the criteria were that players must have debuted in the NHL on or after January 1, 2025.

The accomplishments of Crosby and Malkin are sufficient for both players to be 1st ballot Hall of Famers.

Not only have they won numerous personal accolades and awards, but they also were pivotal in each of Pittsburgh's 3 Stanley Cup wins of 2009, 2016 and 2017.

They are also No. 2 and 3 in Penguins all-time franchise scoring leaders; Crosby has 1,687 points (625G, 1,062A) while Malkin has 1,346 points (514G, 832A).

It may seem unthinkable to see Sidney Crosby wearing any other NHL sweater besides the Penguins, but his name has been included in recent trade rumors.

Crosby is signed for another 2 years in Pittsburgh with his traditional AAV (average annual value) of $8.7 million, but the Penguins have no realistic chance at competing for the Stanley Cup and are considered a long shot to even make the postseason.

They've missed the playoffs in each of the last 3 years, the longest drought of both Crosby and Malkin's careers.

If the Penguins struggle heavily as expected, the rumors surrounding Crosby and his potential desire to chase the Stanley Cup one more time before he retires will only get louder.