Penguins’ Crosby says he plans to play at least three more seasons

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby said he plans to play at least three more seasons and possibly more.

“Three for sure and then we’ll see after that,” Crosby said.

Crosby on how much longer he's planning to play in the NHL: "Three, for sure - and then we'll see after that. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Three, definitely. I'm glad Geno said three and Tanger said 5+ probably [smiles]. Not surprised at either of those answers."

Crosby, 34, recently completed his 17th season with the Penguins. The Cole Harbour, N.S., native registered 31 goals and 53 assists in 69 regular-season games in 2021-22.

The Penguins were eliminated from the playoffs after falling to the New York Rangers 4-3 in their best-of-seven first-round series.

Crosby left Game 5 following a high hit from Rangers defenceman Jacob Trouba. He was then ruled out for Game 6 with an upper-body injury but returned for the deciding game in the series.

Crosby, whose contract runs through the 2024-25 season with an annual cap hit of $8.7 million, also said he hopes that pending unrestricted free agents Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will return to the Penguins next season. The three have been teammates in Pittsburgh since the 2006-07 season.

Crosby on Letang and Malkin: "I think we all feel the same way. We've been fortunate enough to play together for a long time. There's a lot of belief and trust in one another... We understand that it's not something that can happen forever, but hopefully a little bit longer."

“I think we all feel the same way,” Crosby said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to play together for a long time.

“There’s a lot of belief and trust in one another … We understand that it’s not something that