Penguins' Sidney Crosby's 'grateful' reaction to looming 600-goal milestone

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby continues to play at an elite level , even though the nickname "Sid the Kid" hasn't quite fit him for over a decade.

At 37 years of age, Crosby has shown no signs of slowing down with six goals and nine assists in the first 14 games of the 2024-25 season, a scoring pace of reaching 88 points in 82 games. And right now, he's only two goals away from a historic milestone.

Crosby is just two goals away from becoming the 21st player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal plateau, and it won't be long before he overtakes Jari Kurri (601 goals), Dino Ciccarelli (608 goals) and Bobby Hull (610 goals). And as he approaches the milestone, he's expressing gratitude , via NHL.com.

"I didn't know how long I was going to play," Crosby said. "You really just try to make the most of the opportunity because you really don't know how it's going to go, how long you're going to play. I'm just really grateful, to be honest with you."

The approaching milestone brought back memories of his first-career NHL goal as a rookie in 2005, scoring against Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur.

"Just joy," he said of the feeling he had. "I mean, you dream of scoring that first goal and it took me a couple games. I had a really good look in my first shift (in my NHL debut) against New Jersey in the slot against Marty Brodeur and didn't score there. Just nice to get it early and at home."

Crosby and the Penguins will try to shake off the inconsistency when take on the rival Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in Raleigh. The puck is scheduled to drop just after 7:00 PM EST from Lenovo Center, formerly known as PNC Arena.

Sidney Crosby recently agreed to a contract extension with the Penguins

Prior to the current season, Crosby agreed to sign a two-year extension with the franchise that selected him first overall in the 2005 NHL Draft—often referred to as the "Crosby sweepstakes".

As a nod to his iconic jersey No. 87, Crosby's average annual value (AAV) is once again $8.7 million, a notable discount compared to what he might have earned on the open market.

In 1,286 career games, Crosby has tallied 598 goals and 1,013 assists. He's also contributed 71 goals and 130 assists in 180 career playoff games, which include three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017). In 2016 and 2017, Crosby also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the postseason.