The Penguins have several pending free agents this offseason, and forward Evgeni Malkin is, by far, the most prominent.
But one player’s contractual status looms over all others.
Sidney Crosby.
Crosby will be entering the final year of his current contract and is eligible to sign an extension as of July 1.
A similar scenario unfolded in the 2024 offseason. As Crosby entered the final year of his previous contract — a 12-year pact he signed in 2012 with former general manager Ray Shero — there was great curiosity about when he would sign an extension.
He ultimately agreed to his current deal on Sept. 16, 2024.
As this offseason begins, the anticipation of Crosby signing again isn’t all that intense.
At least for Crosby.
“Just wait and see,” Crosby said Friday in Cranberry during the team’s exit interviews. “I haven’t thought that far ahead, but we’ll just wait and see.”
Crosby, who turns 39 on Aug. 7, was largely dominant in his 21st NHL season, but there were challenges, particularly after he suffered a suspected right knee injury while skating for Canada in the Olympics in February. That ailment sidelined him for at least 11 games — perhaps a few more — as the Penguins tried to secure a playoff berth in the final months of the regular season.
Crosby indicated he will not need any type of offseason surgery.
“I’m going to have discussions today and talk to doctors and things like that,” Crosby said. “I feel pretty good.”
Given the grind of a season he just completed, it’s doubtful Crosby will skate for Canada in the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Championship tournament – as he did last season – but he indicated he has not had any discussions on the matter with Hockey Canada as of yet.
Muse a finalist for Jack Adams Award
Penguins coach Dan Muse was named as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, an honor that recognizes the league’s top coach.
Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres also were announced as finalists Friday.
Muse largely deflected the recognition as a team-wide achievement.
“It’s a credit to players, number one,” Muse said. “They’re the ones that are out on the ice playing the game. So, I don’t think any coach ever gets recognition when the team doesn’t play well on the ice. These guys did a great job throughout the course of the year, continuing to take steps.
“It’s also the coaching staff as a whole. There’s so much that goes into it, so much behind the scenes. My name’s on it, but I think this is more of an organizational thing than anything else. Players, entire staff, everybody.”
Muse’s players were far more willing to sing his praises.
“He did so much,” forward Rickard Rakell said. “I think he really built the whole team. You could see up and down the lineup, guys having career years and playing a big role on our team. I think that’s the biggest reason for us getting into the playoffs and becoming a better team. Every day here, it’s not just one day, I think he had a big part in it.”
Silovs recovering
Rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs revealed he finished the season with an unspecified knee injury that he labored through, including during his strong three-game run in the playoffs.
“I’m going to do an MRI on my knee and see how it goes,” Silovs said. “It’s been probably three, four weeks. Tried to play it through.”
Silovs indicated he will make a determination on potentially playing for Latvia in the IIHF World Championship tournament following the MRI.
A pending restricted free agent, Silovs said he has not yet discussed a potential contract extension with management.
Hallander returns to Sweden to train
Rookie forward Filip Hallander has returned to his native Sweden to begin offseason training after being sidelined for the majority of the 2025-26 campaign because of a blood clot one of his legs.
Hallander will be reevaluated by the team’s medical staff at an unspecified date in the offseason to determine his status for training camp in September, according to a team spokesperson.
Hallander last played an NHL game Nov. 3. By Nov. 7, the team announced he was placed on injured reserve because of the blood clot.
By Feb. 18, he was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League for conditioning purposes. After three games and one goal with that club, he was recalled to the NHL roster Feb. 27. But from that point, team officials largely declined to offer a substantive update on Hallander’s status until Friday.
Next season, Hallander will be entering the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000.