Sidney Crosby Turns 38, and Only One NHL Legend Has More Points Since 1987

Sidney Crosby is celebrating his 38th birthday today. Yes, 'Sid the Kid' is officially one of the NHL's veterans now that he's starting his 21st year with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Since his first season in 2005, Sidney Crosby has long exceeded the gargantuan hype surrounding him when he first arrived. He's already considered one of the all-time greats of the NHL, and he's not done yet building his legacy.

Crosby's resume is filled to the brim: three Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, two Art Ross awards, two Conn Smythe awards, two Maurice Richard Trophies, three Ted Lindsay Awards, eight All-Star Game selections, and a member of the NHL's 100th Anniversary Team.

Although one of the leading scorers in league history (tied for 16th), Crosby's peak quality is playmaking. He is 10th all-time in assists today and has continually elevated the level of the guys around him.

His performances in the playoffs bear that out, most prominently during Pittsburgh's 2017 Cup run, when he assisted on Chris Kunitz's double-overtime game-winner in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators and produced three assists in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against Nashville.

The Penguins became champions again, a first repeat performance in the NHL in nearly two decades.

Here's a mind-boggling statistic: Of the 5,162 players in the NHL who have laced them up since Aug. 7, 1987, only one has more points than Crosby since the date of his birth. And that player is Jaromir Jagr.

And Crosby wasn't even in the league until 2005, which makes this stat all the more mindblowing. Happy birthday, Sid. Still great all these years later.