Sidney Crosby and the NHL’s assist leaderboard: how high can he go?

Crosby is in the top-10 now, how far will he climb?

Sidney Crosby started the day yesterday behind Gordie Howe in assists. After a two assist game against Toronto, Crosby tied and cleared Howe to hit 10th all-time in NHL helpers.

As the graphic above illustrates, Crosby would get up to second place all-time with 200 more helpers. Can he do it?

The Penguin captain has averaged 55 assists in the last three full seasons from 2022-24. He has 46 assists this season, and the team still has 19 games to go, so it’s looking promising that he can even exceed the rate of his recent seasons in this, his age-37 season.

Crosby signed a two-year contract extension earlier this season that will keep him with the Penguins through 2026-27. Playing through that could put him around Jaromir Jagr’s 1,155 total if his rates and hold for fifth place.

Crosby hasn’t definitively stated any future plans for playing beyond 2027, which would require him playing into his 40’s. That decision will take time to determine how he is feeling physically and what desires he may or may not have to continue the grind of being an NHL player. If Crosby did come back in 2027-28, he would likely be working on and towards the range of Ray Bourque (1,169) and Mark Messier (1,193).

It would require a big flourish or playing deep into his 40’s in order to get close to Ron Francis (1,249) in second. Of course, never say never with a player as determined and talented as Crosby, but going up the ranks even further is going to be a challenge at the end of his illustrious career.

Already getting to the top-10, it shouldn’t take much longer for Crosby to keep climbing. He’s 14 away from Steve Yzerman and 30 more will take him up to eighth place past Adam Oates. No matter how high up on the list that Crosby might ultimately end up, it’s a good bet that he will continue climbing on the rankings as one of the most prolific passers that the sport has ever seen.