The Pittsburgh Penguins are still lead by two of the best centers currently playing in the NHL.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are still lead by two of the best centers currently playing in the NHL.
They may be 36 and 37-years-old respectively, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continue to be more than just some of the best players on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
According to NHL Network, a pair of the Penguins’ all-time great still rank highly among centers in the league.
In their recent rankings of the top 20 centers, the NHL Network ranked Malkin at 18th, and Crosby at 5th.
During the 2022-23 season, Malkin played in all 82 games for the first time since 2008-09 and produced at a level that frankly wasn’t expected.
Malkin put up 83 points (27G-56A) and may have been a minus-12, but he routinely looked like a young Geno.
2022-23 was the first year of a new contract for Malkin and now sharing a locker room with Erik Karlsson, you can expect Malkin’s numbers to remain steady if not see an increase.
No. 18 is a good spot for Malkin, even if the league continues to get younger and faster around him.
No matter what age he is, or where the Penguins are in the standings, Crosby still holds his status as one of the best in the game.
In all 82 games of the 2022-23 season, Crosby continued his pace of never finishing a season under a point per game with 93 in total.
Between 33 goals and 60 assists, Crosby did everything he could to push the Penguins into the postseason.
The Penguins missing the playoffs doesn’t fall on Crosby’s shoulders, but he’s going to enter this upcoming season with a whole new fire to get back into contention.
Crosby is a fresh 36-year-old but don’t expect his production to take a dip in any way.
The Penguins, including their top two centers, will have a lot to prove during the 2023-24 season and Crosby and Malkin will be huge focal points to their success.
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