The NHL has become a young man’s league. Players are faster, more skilled, and integrate into the league more quickly. Watch any game, and you will inevitably see a commercial boasting about these factors. From Connor Bedard to Connor McDavid, players are proving that the game has evolved.
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But the old guard is not quite ready to pass off the baton, let alone retire. Sidney Crosby and Joe Pavelski are making that clear.
According to all the analytics, both players are well past their prime — Crosby at 36 and Pavelski at 39. That does not seem to bother them in the slightest, as each has at least 42 points halfway through the season. Clearly, the hard work, both on and off the ice, is paying off for these age-defying skaters. In an era where speed and skill are prized above all, it is worth looking closely at how each of these players is bucking the trend of the NHL.
Crosby’s Hart-Worthy Season
I am not the first to argue that Crosby is performing at a level deserving of Hart Trophy consideration. His 27 goals are tied for seventh in the league. Here are a few players (and their goal totals) Crosby is outpacing: Nathan MacKinnon (26), Mikko Rantanen (26), Elias Pettersson (25), William Nylander (23), Leon Draisaitl (22), and Connor McDavid (16). Crosby is at least eight years older than each and an astonishing 11 years older than Pettersson. It does not matter if you are a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins or Crosby, that is impressive. To really drive home how impressive his goal-scoring has been, I will ask you this: Would you have bet that Crosby would have 19 more goals than longtime rival Alex Ovechkin at this point in the season?
There is much more to Crosby’s season than scoring goals, though. Perhaps his most valuable trait is his compete level. Crosby’s competitive nature is driving the Penguins, and if the team makes the playoffs, it will be because of this characteristic. Former teammate and NHL defenseman Ryan Whitney has dubbed Crosby a “first line grinder”—meaning Crosby works as hard as a fourth line forward but boasts the skill of a first line player. This might be one of the best compliments you could give a player. Let us take a look at what a “first line grinder” does to bully his way into Hart Trophy contention at age 36.
I encourage you to watch the short clip above in which you will see Crosby cancel an icing call by beating Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm in a foot race. The Penguins were winning 6-5 with about 30 seconds left. If that icing gets called, the play comes right back into the Penguins’ zone, providing the Bruins ample time to attack. Instead, Crosby bleeds about 20 seconds off the clock and shuts down the Bruins’ hope of tying the game. This effort by Crosby, a player many are now calling one of the top five greatest ever, epitomizes his unique “first-line grinder” identity. By the way, Crosby scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in that victory on Jan. 4.
Just over a week ago, Elliotte Friedman interviewed MacKinnon, Crosby’s longtime close friend and rival, both hailing from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. The duo trains and battles together every summer, so if anyone has insight into Crosby’s mentality, it is MacKinnon. When talking about Crosby, MacKinnon said, “I think Sid has a ton of game left. I think he can play as long as he wants to, honestly. I’m a believer that primes are a little longer now. If you do the right things, look at a guy like [Crosby], Pavelski, there’s lots of examples of guys [who are] very successful in their 30s. I think Sid is going to be a great player two, three years from now” (from ‘Should the Leafs Buy or Sell?’ 32 Thoughts the Podcast, Jan. 15, 2024).
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MacKinnon is known as one of the most competitive players in the league. His words carry weight, so his insight should be taken seriously. Crosby’s play will eventually decline, and he will retire. According to MacKinnon, though, we should not expect it any time soon.
This leads up back to the assertion that Crosby should be considered for the Hart Trophy. At 36, he would be the oldest player to win the award, passing Herb Gardiner and Eddie Shore, who both won it at 35. How fitting it would be for Crosby to claim that record since he is tied with Wayne Gretzky as the youngest player to win the Hart at the age of 19. Truly, we are witnessing something beyond special this season with Crosby, made all the more impressive by the fact that the NHL continues to become faster and younger.
Pavelski Can Break a Gordie Howe Record
You will notice that the other name MacKinnon mentioned in his interview was Joe Pavelski. The 39-year-old winger for the Dallas Stars is producing at a rate he frankly has no right to produce at. His 19 goals, 23 assists, and 42 points are third on the Stars. He is on pace for his fourteenth 20-goal season and closing in on his 500th career goal — numbers that are not too shabby for a seventh-round draft pick in 2003.
Pavelski’s late selection and universally acknowledged slower skating makes his success, especially at this age, arguably more impressive than Crosby’s. Few people, if any, saw this coming 21 years ago. How is Pavelski doing it?
First, and I mean this will all the respect in the world, let us look at how poor Pavelski’s skating is compared with the rest of the league. This is important because it highlights just how talented and smart he is in other areas of the game. The chart below makes these numbers more digestible.
| Joe Pavelski | NHL Average | |
| Top Speed | 20.6mph | 22.01mph |
| 22+mph Bursts | 0 | 2 |
| 20-22mph Bursts | 8 | 44 |
| 18-20mph Bursts | 159 | 186 |
Now, you might be asking yourself, “Nick, what do these numbers mean?” I will tell you what they mean: Pavelski is slow. Again, I am not saying this to be disrespectful. God knows he most likely is faster at 39 than I was at 18. But he ranks in the bottom half of the NHL in every skating category. Again, we must ask ourselves, how is he doing it?
Enter Pavelski’s shooting ability and hockey IQ. His 16.8 shooting percentage ranks in the 91st percentile, and his 116 shots on goal are in the 85th. Of his shots, 52 are from “high-danger” areas right in front of the net and 31 from “mid-range” spots. A mere eight shots have come from “long-range.” Astonishingly, he scores 23.1 percent of the shots he takes from in front of the net.
So what? So, Pavelski is a smart shooter. More than that, though, these numbers prove his high hockey IQ. He does not need to be a phenomenal skater because he puts himself in the right place at the right time. And we have yet to mention his wizard-like ability to deflect pucks (see the clip below).
It is not as though Pavelski’s success is based solely on God-given talent. His work ethic and compete level, while less public than a player like Crosby, allow him to play in a league with an average age 10 years younger than he is. In an episode of “Joe’s Path to The Pros,” Pavelski talks about how when he arrived at the University of Wisconsin, he could not do a single pull-up. His strength and conditioning coach at the time, Mike Potenza, went so far as to say Pavelski “wasn’t fast. He wasn’t big. You know, he wasn’t strong at the time. But his work ethic and ability to constantly think about training and his development was premier” (from “Joe’s Path to the Pros: Episode 4,” TorchPro, Oct. 18, 2022).
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In his sophomore season, Pavelski cemented a work ethic that would carry to him an unbelievable NHL career. Looking to develop more quickly, he went to Potenza and asked him to design an entire workout regime he could do on top of the required team practices and workouts. Soon, Pavelski’s leadership by example drew nearly 10 players into the gym with him. Pavelski summarizes his attitude best: “One of the secret[s] of the pro is that they do their job. They do their work.”
Fast forward to 2024, where Pavelski averages one and a half minutes less of ice time this season than last, and we see how he continues to produce at 39. He has 19 goals, and if he scores 21 more this season, he will pass Gordie Howe for the most goals by a 39-year-old player. Twenty-one goals for Pavelski through the remainder of the season is not impossible.
His work ethic, combined with his shooting ability and hockey IQ, establish him as a uniquely talented player and leader for the Dallas Stars. All that remains for Pavelski is to hoist Lord Stanley — an achievement I would assume most can root for, given his tremendous underdog story.
Work Ethic and Compete Level Are Common Threads
While the NHL will sell the speed and skill of the younger stars, Sidney Crosby and Joe Pavelski prove there remains an important spot for the older generation. What each has accomplished and continues to show on the ice requires an unwavering commitment to improving yourself and dedication to the game. Let us not move on too quickly lest we fail to appreciate fully the performance of two truly special players.