Sidney Crosby’s retirement, future with Penguins projected by former NHL goalie originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It’s been a renaissance season for Sidney Crosby.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ captain looks like a much younger version of himself, and instead of wondering about whether he’ll retire, the question is now how long he might play.

During this NHL season, Crosby has played 66 games and has scored 29 goals with 43 assists for 72 points.

He’s up to 1,759 career points in 1,418 games played. That includes 654 goals and 1,105 assists.

Crosby is 38, turning 39 in August. The question is starting to be raised of whether he can reach 2,000 career points.

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He’d likely have to play at least three more seasons, and potentially four or five depending on his role.

Former NHL goalie Carter Hutton joined Daily Faceoff Live to discuss his thoughts — and in short, he thinks it’s possible and will be mostly up to Crosby’s own wishes.

“I guess maybe with the way that he takes care of himself, and then it just depends on where his role is,” Hutton said. “If he can still be productive, and maybe you can start to drop his minutes, because he’s still playing 19 minutes per night… Imagine if he just accepts being on the third or fourth line and playing minimal minutes because he loves the game so much. Then it starts to become possible.”

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The Penguins could start to get younger around Crosby while still giving him a role as a veteran leader.

“I think it will be up to him,” Hutton said, “but like the factor of the game will be how long does he personally want to play for? I feel like the Pens’ organization will do whatever they need to make sure that Sidney Crosby is happy and in a good situation where he still can succeed.”

At this point, there’s no reason to bet against an all-time great like Crosby. If he wants to achieve something, he’s got a pretty good chance to actually achieve it.

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