With future of trio uncertain, Sidney Crosby on Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang: ‘They’re like family’

A 1-0 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of a first-round series Wednesday night might have been the end of a championship era in Pittsburgh Penguins hockey.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have played together for 20 seasons, establishing themselves, with three Stanley Cup titles and countless individual honors, as one of the most decorated and tenured trios in NHL history.

But Malkin’s contract is expiring, and the topic of general manager Kyle Dubas’ willingness to give him another deal has been discussed over and over, without resolution, throughout the season.

In the moments after Flyers defenseman Cam York’s overtime goal ended the Penguins’ season, Crosby shared his thoughts on the matter.

“It’s probably hard to put into words, honestly,” Crosby said. “It’s something that we probably have just gotten used to. But I think they’re like family. I think that’s the best way to describe it. We’ve had some great wins, some tough losses like this. Ultimately, though, that’s a long time that we’ve played together. Just so appreciative for the opportunity to be able to play with them as long as we have.

“Hopefully we can keep it going.”

Dan Muse has only coached the trio for one season, but he spoke passionately about their impact on the team.

“You see it from afar and you hear how people talk about all three of these guys prior to being here, and then you get to see it first-hand. It’s special,” Muse said. “To be doing what they’ve been doing for this long, at such a high level, just continuing to be able to elevate their games, especially when things get hard and it’s late in the seaosn, whether it’s fighting to clinch a playoff spot or when your team needs to dig out of a hole during the regular season or in the playoffs, they just continue to elevate and find different levels.

“I honestly don’t think the three of them get enough credit for the fact that they’ve been doing it together for this long. It hasn’t happened before in sports in North America, and there’s a reason for it. Because it’s ridiculously hard, and it’s so uncommon, and it takes special people to be able to do it.”