Before Sidney Crosby's first home opener at Pittsburgh's now-extinct Mellon Arena in October 2005, Mario Lemieux walked past a media scrum encircling Crosby and into the players' lounge, pouring a cup of black coffee. Smirking, he opined about soon being forgotten. Then, in an unusually earnest moment, Lemieux predicted Crosby would own all my records one day, nodded his head and walked out. Lemieux might have undersold it. Crosby will have an opportunity to break Lemieux's Penguins records, but also NHL records by Wayne Gretzky (most consecutive seasons averaging at least a point per game) and Steve Yzerman (most consecutive seasons as a team captain).
Crosby said on Monday afternoon, after speaking with Pittsburgh media following his annual delivery of season tickets to an unsuspecting family in Mars, Pa. Like, really? Uh, there's still a long way to go. Not too long. Crosby needs 99 goals, 30 assists, and 128 points to knock Lemieux from the Penguins' perch in those regular-season categories. He long ago set the franchise marks for postseason assists (130) and points (201), and needs only six postseason goals to do one better than Lemieux's 76.
Whether he drags the Penguins along for the ride and back into a position of prominence or becomes the only reason to care about a proud-turned-fledgling franchise could determine if Crosby does what Lemieux did in Pittsburgh: stay until the end of his career. Crosby has said he wants to play only for the Penguins. He also wants to chase another Stanley Cup championship.
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