Why Has This Historic NHL Chase Gone Under The Radar?

Outside of the Four Nations Face-Off, the Alex Ovechkin goal chase has been the most entertaining storyline of the 2024-25 season.

While the chase for one of Wayne Gretzky’s most illustrious records has been well documented since No. 8 surpassed 800 career goals, it was not the only record at risk of being broken for The Great One.

And, after Sidney Crosby lit the lamp against the Sabres Sabres Thursday night, he solidified himself above Gretzky in NHL history.

Crosby’s goal last night was his 26th of the season, to go alongside his 54 assists in 72 games.

With eight games left in the regular year, and the Penguins captain sitting at 80 points in those 72 games, Crosby has confirmed that he will finish the season at a point-per-game pace.

This is a per-game mark that Crosby has met in each of his 20 NHL seasons, which surpasses Gretzky for the most in NHL history.

Crosby was able to reach this historic total after his 102-point rookie season at just 18 years old, seemingly giving an instant return on investment to the Penguins, who drafted him first overall. For context, Crosby is one of four teenagers in NHL history to record over 100 points in their rookie season, joining Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk and Mario Lemieux.

Since the Penguins’ center hit the ground running in his NHL career, he has been the epitome of consistency, averaging 114.7 points per 82 games in his first nine seasons.

Even if you were to call his next eleven seasons, where he averaged 93.7 point per 82, a decline in production, it is still the fourth-best rate for a player age 27 or higher in terms of points per game, trailing just Gretzky, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito.

While the surprising uptick in Ovechkin’s offensive production has made his personal chase all the more interesting, decision fatigue should not take away from the fact that what Crosby continues to do on a game-to-game basis is something you do not see anymore in today’s fast-paced NHL.

To compare the two that have been each other’s measuring stick throughout the 2000s, Crosby has been the overall more impactful player.

Outside of goals on the year (36 for Ovechkin, 26 for Crosby), Sid leads Ovi in points, assists, average time on ice, and goals created.

In fact, the only metric that Ovechkin leads Crosby in that is not puck on net related is in +/-, which may be the biggest reason for the discrepancy in publicity of these Gretzky chases.

Despite Crosby’s ability to drive the team’s offense, especially in five-on-five play, Crosby will finish this season with the worst +/- of his career, currently at -23.

Ovechkin on the other hand, is on pace to finish with his first positive +/- since 2021, as the Capitals have unexpectedly been atop the Metropolitan Division standings all season.

Contrarily, The Penguins are currently sitting with their worst point percentage since 2005.

While Crosby deserves praise for his level or production this season, he would be the first to tell you that he should not be leading the team in points by 17 over Rickard Rakell in second place.

Ahead of the season, Crosby signed a two-year, $17.4 million contract to stay in the black and yellow. This keeps Crosby with the team that drafted him through his age-39 season in 2026.

Despite the length of this contract and the no-move clause attached, Pittsburgh being so far out of contention began the speculations that Crosby may take the opportunity to join a contender.

Crosby denied the rumors all the way through the trade deadline; however, it is difficult to see the Penguins not being in a position next season where the same questions will be warranted.

With eight games remaining for the Penguins, they currently represent the worst team in the NHL in terms of goals allowed, averaging 3.6 per contest.

Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, the team’s top-two paid defensemen, are on contract through the 2026 season, taking up a combined 20% of the team’s cap next year. Those two are also the worst-two defensemen on the team in terms of +/-, with Karlson’s -24 leading Letang’s -17.

While the members of Pittsburgh’s back-end have admittedly not made it easy for the goaltenders, the tandem of Alex Nedeljkovic and Tristan Jarry has left room for improvement as well, as they both possess a save percentage below .900, and a goals against average above 3.20. The two, 29-year-old tenders, are signed through next season, with Jarry earning $5.365 million AAV compared to Nedelkkovic’s $2.5 million.

There is no reason to believe Crosby will fall short of the point-per-game mark next season, especially after proving it surrounded by the worst team he has been a part of. However, could Crosby’s loyalty prevent the rest of his historic feats from receiving the recognition they deserve?

Or, could his desire to wear one jersey throughout his career prevent us from ever seeing one of the best postseason performers in the playoffs again?