It will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen a hockey game in the last 25 years that Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was one of the first players named to the NHL’s Quarter Century Team. Perhaps the slight surprise is that teammate Evgeni Malkin, who is far more than deserving but perennially snubbed for such honors, was also named to the team.
The Quarter-Century Team was selected through a two-stage campaign that included input from NHL officials, followed by a league-wide fan vote.
Crosby and Malkin were both selected, though teammate Kris Letang was not.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2000 through today, Crosby ranks at or near the top in every major regular-season category, including games played (1,311, 14th), goals (602, 2nd), assists (1,035, 2nd), points (1,637, 1st) game-winning goals (93, 3rd) and overtime goals (22, 2nd).
Crosby’s trophy cabinet is full. He has three Stanley Cups, three Ted Lindsay awards, two Hart Trophies, “Rocket” Richard trophies, Conn Smythe trophies, and Art Ross Trophies.
He also became the 26th member of the Triple Gold Club by winning a Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal (2010, ’14), and World Championship (2015). Crosby is the only member of the Club to have captained all three teams.
Crosby is generally considered a top-five player of all time, with Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr. This season, Crosby broke Gretzky’s mark with his 20th consecutive season of at least a point per game.
Malkin has come a long way since “Three years, Super League,” the phrase he used as a rookie to win an argument with Crosby over who should go last onto the ice moments before their first warmup together in the 2006-07 season.
Malkin had to go to extraordinary lengths just to make it to the NHL, hiding in the Helsinki airport and a local apartment just to get away from his Russian team that used military tactics to keep him.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound forward has scored 514 goals, 832 assists and 1,346 points, which rank sixth, fifth and fourth, respectively, among all players since 2000.
In the playoffs, Malkin has been “Fire,” registering 180 points (67-113-180). He ranks second behind only Crosby over the last 25 years of playoff performances.
Malkin reached the 100-point mark three times during his career, first during the 2007-08 season, then ‘08-09 and ‘11-12 seasons. He is one of eight players to do so three or more times. He also reached the 50-goal mark during the ’11-12 season, the year he won the Hart Trophy.
While Crosby has 10 All-Star nods, Malkin has seven and five First-Team NHL All-Star awards, two Art Ross Trophies (2009, ’12), one Hart Trophy (2012), one Ted Lindsay Award (2012), one Calder Trophy (2007), and one Conn Smythe Trophy (2009). He’s also been voted Team MVP by his teammates on five separate occasions.
Malkin has also set the standard among Russian players with 832 assists. He ranks second in goals (514) and points (1,346) among all Russian-born players.