Sidney Crosby is now the Pittsburgh Penguins’ all-time leading scorer, passing legend Mario Lemieux.
Crosby picked up a goal and an assist in the first period against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, Dec. 21 to give him 1,724 career points, all with the Penguins. That moved him past Hall of Famer Lemieux, who had been the Penguins’ leader since he passed Rick Kehoe in 1989.
Crosby also moves into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time NHL scoring list by passing Lemieux.
He scored his 20th goal of the season, then set up Rickard Rakell on the power play for the milestone point. Teammates streamed onto the ice to congratulate him.
Lemieux got his point total in 915 games (in two stints after coming out of retirement in 2000) as he dominated despite battling back problems and missing time for cancer treatment. Crosby, who had concussion issues early in his career, has played 1,387 games.
Lemieux was drafted No. 1 overall in 1984 and helped turn around the franchise, winning Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992.
Crosby, too, was a No. 1 overall draft pick and had a similar impact on the Penguins and the NHL after being selected in 2005 following a season-long lockout. He has led the Penguins to three championships.
Crosby’s first season (2005-26) was Lemieux’s last in the league. Lemieux, the Penguins co-owner at the time, had the generational prospect stay at his house early in his career, knowing he would be a special player.
Crosby has shown that and more.
In addition to the three Stanley Cups, he has won two points titles and two goal titles and was voted regular-season and playoff MVP twice. Like Lemieux, he was named to the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.
Last year, he broke Wayne Gretzky’s record with a 20th season averaging at least a point a game. He’s averaging that again this season. He has 645 goals and 1,079 assists in his career.
Next up on the scoring list for Crosby is No. 7 Steve Yzerman at 1,755.