Crosby honored to tie Lemieux for Penguins’ career assist record

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby never set out to replicate Mario Lemieux.

Not in importance to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not in influence. Not in any statistic.

“I didn't ever think about that,” said Crosby, the Penguins captain. “I dreamed of playing in the NHL and I'm grateful for that, for all these years.”

But on Monday, the 37-year-old center did catch Lemieux in one category.

Crosby reached 1,033 assists in the NHL, tying his mentor for the most in Penguins history, with three in the first period of a 7-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. He added an empty-net goal at 17:30 of the third period.

“I don't think about where I am on the list,” Crosby said. “To be with Mario, though, is pretty cool. Like I said, I never would've expected that, so yeah, that's just a bonus.”

Crosby, selected No. 1 in the 2005 NHL Draft, has played the most games in Penguins history (1,308). He has 1,635 points and 602 goals, each second behind Lemieux (1,723 points, 690 goals).

"I just think it's elite company,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “Mario's one of the greatest players of all time, as is Sid. Milestones that these guys reach, there's very few players in the history of the game that have reached these milestones that Mario and Sid and some of our guys have reached here most recently.

“It's just one more piece of evidence to suggest that Sid is one of the very best players of all time. And, as we know, Mario is as well.”

Lemieux played 915 games for the Penguins after being selected No. 1 in the 1984 NHL Draft. He won the Stanley Cup with them twice as a player (1991, 1992) and three more times as an owner (2009, 2016, 2017).

The stature Lemieux holds in Pittsburgh is arguably only equaled by Roberto Clemente, former right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Joe Greene, former defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If a hockey figure could come close, it would be Crosby.

“Sid, I think, is kind of right there with him in terms of importance to this franchise,” said Bryan Rust, the right wing on Crosby's line. “And you can see how good he's been over his entire career, and he just keeps on doing it.”

Crosby leads the Penguins with 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) in 36 games this season, his 20th in the NHL. He averaged at least a point per game in each of his first 19, tied with Wayne Gretzky for the most in League history.

In his first 30 games, Crosby had 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists), a slow start by his standard. He has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in six games since and has scored one goal with three assists twice in his past three.

That's helped Pittsburgh (16-15-5), 9-3-1 in its past 13 games dating to Nov. 27, move to within one point of the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“It feels like he’s behind every goal we score,” said Rakell, the left wing with Crosby. “That’s definitely the case with him and ‘Rusty.’ He’s doing it all. He’s so good with the final touch or last pass to create a dangerous scoring chance. As much as he can have the puck on his stick in their zone, I think it’s going to work to our benefit.”

It's been that way since 2005-06, Crosby's rookie season and Lemieux’s last. An 18-year-old Crosby had 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) in 81 games. Lemieux had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 26 games before retiring Jan. 24, 2006, at age 40.

Crosby might be closer to the end than the beginning, but his time isn't closing. He signed a two-year, $17.4 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) on Sept. 16 to stay in Pittsburgh through 2026-27 with a chance to catch Lemieux in more than assists. He is 88 behind him in goals and points.

“Their legacy just continues to grow,” Sullivan said. “I think it's pretty cool that you have two generational players in one organization that had a little bit of crossover. But to have those two players to play for your team and the city for, it's almost [four] decades, what an incredible privilege to have two players like that, that ilk that play for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It's remarkable. So, I just think it's one more milestone to suggest that he's in elite company. He's one of the very best players to have ever played the game.”