Penguins Stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin Earn NHL Honors

Pittsburgh Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin earned another accolade for their legendary NHL careers.

The second group of players in the NHL Quarter-Century Team was unveiled Friday, and Crosby and Malkin were among the group. The other players who debuted between 2000-2010 and also earned a nod on the team were Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Datsyuk, Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos.

Crosby is a two-time winner of the Hart Trophy (2007, ’14), Conn Smythe Trophy (2016, ’17), Art Ross Trophy (2007, ’14) and Richard Trophy (2010, ’17). The 37-year-old led the Penguins to three Stanley Cup titles and was named as one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in the league’s centennial celebration in 2017.

“I think the fact that he’s been recognized by his peers might be the highest compliment that any player could ever receive,” former Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan told NHL.com. “When your peers think that highly of you, I think that just speaks volumes because these guys play with, and most of them against him night in and night out. He earns that respect that he’s gotten from his peers year in and year out. That’s not something that’s handed to anyone. He earns that through his performance and how hard he competes out there.”

Malkin played alongside Crosby for the three Stanley Cup title runs. He’s won the 2007 Calder Trophy, Art Ross (2009, ’12) and Conn Smythe Trophy (2009). The 38-year-old is one of four Penguins with 1,000 career points and scored his 500th NHL goal last October.

“I remember watching ‘Geno’ play and, obviously, he came over in my second year (2006-07), but just waiting patiently for him to come over and hoping that it was sooner than later,” Crosby told NHL.com. “Just having the opportunity to watch him prior to that, knowing how good he was, obviously you don’t ever know but he just seemed special right from the start. … It’s been pretty incredible to be part of the team and play with him over this amount of time.”

The Quarter-Century Team was selected by fan vote from Feb. 12-April 1, and it’s safe to say they made the right choice for including Crosby and Malkin.