Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylvanfan
In today's NHL I wouldn't consider a guy like Bjugstad to be all that young anymore. 26 year old forward will be 27 next year, and not exactly blessed with foot speed to burn. With how the game is trending, I have to think we will see a lot less forwards who stay in the league past the age of 30 than what we are used to.
I'm sure there are analytics that support whether or not he's a fit in Pittsburgh or not. But I have no idea what they are.
|
He's essentially in his prime, which is what Pittsburgh needs (assuming cap hits are reasonable).
After this year, Crosby has 3 more seasons before his real salary drops to $3M per year. That is the same year Malkin's deal ends. The Pens need to keep pushing all of their chips into the middle for the next 3.5 years.
It's too early to start asking this question, but will Crosby want to keep risking his health past age 35 with very little financial incentive? His 8.7 cap hit will probably be fair value for his production at that point (ie. not crippling the team's ability to compete), but will he really have anything left to prove?
It's not at all inconceivable that he rides off into the sunset with another olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup in 2022.