Sidney Crosby on Verge of Shattering Wayne Gretzky's 40-Year-Old NHL Record

The 2024-25 season hasn't gone according to plan for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Sidney Crosby continues to author one of the most remarkable late-career chapters in NHL history. At 37 years old, while many superstars fade, Crosby isn't just hanging on—he’s chasing immortality.

With two assists in Sunday’s shootout loss to Florida, Crosby now has 78 points in 70 games this season. 

That puts him just two points away from securing his 20th point-per-game campaign—a milestone that would break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record for most such seasons in NHL history.

Let that sink in: For two full decades, Crosby has been so consistently brilliant that he has never once finished a season below a point-per-game pace. 

Not after devastating injuries. Not through changing eras. Not even as he plays deep into his late 30s!

But what makes this record even more extraordinary is the context. Gretzky’s prime unfolded in the wide-open, high-scoring 1980s, when multiple players routinely racked up 100+ points. Crosby, meanwhile, spent his peak years in the dead-puck era, where scoring was suffocated and only a handful of elite players could even approach a point-per-game pace.

This isn’t about diminishing Gretzky—his greatness is untouchable. But it does underscore just how historically dominant Crosby has been relative to his era. While others saw their numbers decline as the game tightened up, Crosby adapted, evolved, and kept producing at an all-world level.

Now, as he closes in on this record, one thing is undeniable: Sidney Crosby isn’t just passing milestones—he’s cementing his legacy as the most consistently brilliant player the sport has ever seen. And at 37, he’s still not done.

Image - Charles LeClaire-Imagn