Could Connor Bedard take over the Pittsburgh Penguins captain in just his first season in the NHL?

Ever since the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005, he has been one of the best players in the league and a true leader for the team.

In 18 seasons with the Penguins, Crosby has never gone a season under a point-per-game and that doesn’t seem likely to start in 2023-24.

Despite the solid numbers, Crosby is aging and should be nearing a decline in production soon enough.

One burning question for the league heading into the 2023-24 season is just how productive will first overall pick Connor Bedard be in his rookie season?

Bedard looked completely dominant against his peers during the Chicago Blackhawks prospects games and has looked right at home during the preseason.

It didn’t take long, but Bedard looks ready for the NHL and could easily find himself in discussions as one of the best players in the league.

For his rookie season alone, however, how high is Bedard’s ceiling? Could he have a more productive 2023-24 than Crosby?

It’s a genuine question that deserves some thought; sure, Crosby is still extremely skilled and hungry, but can he reach certain heights again?

At the same juncture, the Blackhawks aren’t going to be a good team, but that doesn’t mean Bedard won’t produce.

Scoring across the NHL is up and the last time a rookie exceeded 80 points in his rookie year was Mathew Barzal in 2017-18.

For extremely skilled players in the league like Crosby and Bedard, 80 points shouldn’t be that hard, especially if Bedard can live up to all of the hype he’s receiving.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see a real points race between the long-time face of the NHL and it's next big star.

Crosby and Bedard will start their race on opening night when both the Penguins and Blackhawks start the season against each other.

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