One of the biggest talking points for the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the 2022 offseason was the statuses of center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang — two players whom Sidney Crosby has very close relationships with, considering that the trio was part of the Pittsburgh teams that won the franchise's last three Stanley Cup titles. So it was a big sigh of relief for Crosby that the Penguins were able to sign both Malkin and Letang to fresh contracts last July.

With Malkin and Letang returning to Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby is ready to go down to work and continue winning with his old teammates.

Via Greg Wyshynski of ESPN:

“Just … happy,” he said. “Relieved. And then immediately thinking, ‘OK, we've got an opportunity. These guys are staying. And now we've gotta do something with it.'”

Crosby and the Penguins had an early exit from the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, made even more disappointing by the fact that they won three of the first four games of their first-round series against the New York Rangers. The Penguins might have ended that series in six games but Crosby was not able to play Game 6 due to a concussion.

Crosby, Malkin, and Letang are all on the wrong side of 30, as each of them is 35 years old, but the Penguins are definitely hoping that all of them have enough gas in their tanks to help position the team into a strong playoff contender, at least in the 2022-23 NHL season. Crosby is still expected to center the top line while Malkin will be in the middle for the second line. Letang can continue being a top-pair blue liner for the Penguins, who have not missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2006-07 NHL campaign.