Pittsburgh’s Playoff Loss Could Also End the Crosby–Malkin–Letang Era

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs didn’t go as planned, and longtime star center Sidney Crosby has a clear request of the team.

Pittsburgh fell 1–0 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and lost the Eastern Conference quarterfinals series 4–2. It marked an abrupt end to Crosby’s 21st NHL season, all with the Penguins.

Crosby, 38, helped Pittsburgh get back to the playoffs after a three-year hiatus, and longtime teammates center Evgeni Malkin, 39, and defenseman Kris Letang, 39, were a big part of it. Malkin has been with the Penguins since 2006, as has Letang.

Together, they have won three Stanley Cups between 2009 and 2017, but the playoff results have been lean over the past decade. The three staying together looks less than certain as Malkin is set to be a free agent—in addition to being at the tail ends of their careers.

“Honestly, it’s something that we’ve probably just gotten used to, but I think they’re like family. I think that’s the best way to describe it,” Crosby told reporters after the Game 6 loss. “We’ve had some great wins, some tough losses like this.”

“Ultimately, though, that’s a long time that we’ve played together. I’m so appreciative for the opportunity to be able to play with them as long as we have. Hopefully we can keep going,” Crosby added.

The Penguins had a four-year playoff drought by the time the trio came together. Pittsburgh drafted Crosby, a Canadian, No. 1 overall in 2005, and he immediately became a star player, but the Penguins missed the playoffs in his rookie year.

The Penguins had previously drafted Malkin, a Russian star in 2004, but his Russian team didn’t want to let him go. It took a settlement between the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation to finally get Malkin to Pittsburgh in 2006. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, found a star player at No. 62 in the 2005 draft with Letang.

Together, they led the Penguins to 15 consecutive playoff appearances from 2007 to 2022. In that span, the Penguins reached the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and they made the Eastern Conference finals five times.

Pittsburgh has enjoyed a winning season every year since 2006–2007 with the exception of 2024–2025, when the team went 34–36–12. They rebounded this season with a 41–25–16 mark.

“I honestly don’t think the three of them get enough credit for the fact that they’ve been doing it together for this long,” Penguins head coach Dan Muse told reporters afterward. “It hasn’t happened before in sports in North America, and there’s a reason for it, because it’s ridiculously hard and it’s so uncommon and it takes special people to be able to do it.”

Crosby has one of the most decorated careers in hockey history with 1,761 points from 654 goals and 1,107 assists in 1,420 career games. He has won the Hart Trophy (MVP), Conne Smythe Trophy (playoffs MVP), and the Art Ross Trophy (points leader) twice.

Malkin has won the Art Ross twice and the Conn Smythe and Hart trophies once. He has 1,407 career points with 533 goals and 874 assists in 1,269 games. Letang, a two-time All-Star, has 806 career points with 178 goals and 628 assists in 1,235 games.

The trio have maintained their high level of excellence through four different coaching regimes under Michel Therrien, Dan Bylsma, Mike Johnston, and Mike Sullivan. Muse took the Penguins job before the season, but he had plenty of familiarity with the trio as an opposing assistant coach with the New York Rangers from 2023 to 2025 and the Nashville Predators between 2017 and 2020.

“You hear how people talk about all three of these guys and then you get to see it firsthand and it’s special. I mean, to be doing what they’ve been doing for this long, at such a high level, they just continue to elevate and find different levels,” Muse said.