Sidney Crosby starts this season on 1,420 games, 654 goals, 1,107 assists, and 1,761 points. Three Hall of Famers are sitting right above him. He can pass all three before Halloween.
Three goals get him past Brendan Shanahan. Three assists get him past Joe Thornton. Eleven points get him past Marcel Dionne.
And here’s the fun part. The gaps are 2, 2, and 10 — one short of the number he needs. So he ties each guy before he beats him, probably on the same night. For a few minutes, the record book will have two names on one line.
How close is Crosby to Thornton, Shanahan and Dionne?
| Milestone | Who’s ahead | Crosby | Gap to tie | Needs to pass | Where he lands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assists | Joe Thornton, 1,109 | 1,107 | 2 | 3 | 7th all-time |
| Goals | Brendan Shanahan, 656 | 654 | 2 | 3 | 14th all-time |
| Points | Marcel Dionne, 1,771 | 1,761 | 10 | 11 | 6th all-time |
Dionne is the big one. Passing him puts Crosby sixth all-time in points — the highest he’s ever ranked on any career list.
Shanahan is the easiest. The 650s are crowded, and Crosby won’t stop at 14th for long.
When will Sidney Crosby pass Joe Thornton in assists?
Probably in Pittsburgh’s first week.
Three assists is nothing for a guy who has never finished a healthy season under 40. Pick whichever rate you like; they all say the same thing.
| At this rate | Games to 3 assists | Games to 3 goals | Games to 11 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| Last three seasons | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| 2025-26 only | 5 | 8 | 1 |
What are the dates for each Crosby milestone?
Pittsburgh opens on 30 September at Philadelphia. Game ten is 19 October at Utah. Seven of those first ten are on the road, so most of this happens in somebody else’s building.
Run the rates against the schedule and you get:
- Thornton, assists: games 4–5. First week of October.
- Shanahan, goals: games 7–8. Second week.
- Dionne, points: games 9–11. Mid-October, with Utah on the 19th as the back end.
That’s if he plays every night. He’s missed eight games total in three seasons, so it’s a fair bet, but one scratch pushes everything back a date.
What records does Crosby chase after these three?
The next three are a season-long chase, not an October one. And one of them is loaded.
- Paul Coffey, assists — 29 away
- Luc Robitaille, goals — 15 away
- Mario Lemieux, goals — 37 away
That last number is the one. Crosby already owns the Penguins franchise records for games, assists, and points. Goals is the last one Lemieux still has, at 690.
Thirty-seven goals is a normal Crosby year. Which means this is realistically the season one player ends up holding every career record that matters in Pittsburgh.
Is Sidney Crosby signed beyond 2026-27?
No. Crosby’s deal runs through 2026-27, and that’s it. On 8 September, Crosby’s update on the whole thing was “Pat’s talking to Kyle”, that’s agent Pat Brisson and GM Kyle Dubas. Talks are happening.
He’s still the captain, a job he’s had since 31 May 2007. Twentieth season with the C, and the longest active captaincy in the league by nine years.
