NHL Odds: Will Sidney Crosby have the best age-36 season ever?

From the Stanley Cup to an Olympic gold medal to countless individual honours, Sidney Crosby has won almost everything in his hockey career. And at 36-years-old, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

In fact, Crosby is on pace to have the best age-36 season ever.

Sidney Crosby

Crosby had a great season last year with 93 points (33G, 60A) in 82 games, but he is on pace for an even bigger year in 2023-24.

Through 18 games, he leads the Penguins with 22 points (12G, 10A), which puts him on pace for about 98 points and 57 goals if he stays healthy and plays all 82 games again. It would be his highest point total since he last hit the 100-point mark in 2018-19 and it would surpass his career-high of 51 goals set in 2009-10 when he won the first of his two Rocket Richard trophies.

One factor working for Crosby this year is his shooting percentage. Crosby is shooting 17.9 per cent this season, the second-highest mark of his career and it’s over two per cent higher than his career average.

Crosby has also been held pointless in just three games all season and he has dominated particularly well at five-on-five. If the Penguins can improve their 25th ranked power play, there’s no reason to think Crosby will slow down anytime soon.

Other great seasons

Let’s check out the best seasons in NHL history by players in their age-36 season.

Rank	Player	Season	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Teemu Selanne	2006-07	82	48	46	94
2	Jean Ratelle	1976-77	78	33	61	94
3	Alex Ovechkin	2021-22	77	50	40	90
4	Wayne Gretzky	1997-98	82	23	67	90
5	Joe Sakic	2005-06	82	32	55	87
6	Johnny Bucyk	1971-72	78	32	51	83
7	Evgeni Malkin	2022-23	82	27	56	83
8	Alex Delvecchio	1968-69	72	25	58	83
9	Rod Brind'Amour	2006-07	78	26	56	82
10	Joe Thornton	2015-16	82	19	63	82

It’s no surprise the list above is stacked with current and future Hall-of-Famers. Teemu Selanne and Jean Ratelle had the best age-36 seasons, with each player scoring 94 points exactly 30 years apart.

Two current players made the age-36 list, including Crosby’s longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin, who had 83 points in 82 games last season, and rival Alex Ovechkin, who put up 90 points and his record-tying ninth 50-goal season two years ago. Here’s a hockey-nerd stat for your next trivia night: Ovechkin is tied with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history at nine, which is three more 50-goal seasons than the next closest players, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux and Marcel Dionne.

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