36-year-old Sidney Crosby has one year left on his current 12-year, $104.4 million contract, with an $8.7 million cap hit. If he and the Pittsburgh Penguins fail to reach an extension agreement, Crosby will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared his prediction for Crosby’s next contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on his “32 Thoughts” podcast.

“My Crosby prediction is he extends for two or three years at a $10.5M AAV,” Fridman said. “We will see if I’m close. (He’s considering the World Championships, too).”

Friedman expects Crosby to get a significant raise on a short-term contract that will carry him into his late 30s. At $10.5 million per year, Crosby would trail Connor McDavid ($11M) in average annual salary among NHL players.

In other Penguins news, Friedman noted the team signed prospect Tristan Broz out of the University of Denver. He also raised questions about defenseman Kris Letang’s future in Pittsburgh given his age and injury history.

Additionally, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has created an interesting situation in goal by expressing his intention to evaluate top prospect Joel Blomqvist in the AHL playoffs before making a decision on pending unrestricted free agent Alex Nedeljkovic.

“What it says at the least is Dubas isn’t convinced Nedeljkovic/Blomqvist is the way to go.” Friedman said.

On the Jake Guentzel front, Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell recently said he is “optimistic” about re-signing the star winger. However, Friedman pointed out that if Guentzel does reach free agency, the Penguins would likely aggressively pursue to bring him back.

Sidney Crosby’s take on contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby made it clear he plans to have discussions with Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas this offseason about a new deal.

“Obviously, I’m going to talk to [Dubas] and have a conversation with him,” said Sidney Crosby to NHL.com. “We’ll see. I think it’s just something that I’ll have conversations with him about.”

The 36-year-old didn’t specify how many more years he hopes to play in the NHL. But Crosby insisted he takes things year-by-year when evaluating his performance, separate from contractual considerations.

“I don’t really think like that,” explained Crosby. “I’ve always just gone year to year. That’s always kind of served me well, as far as how I evaluate my game and that sort of thing. There’s always a lot of factors. But I think that’s separate from talking contract.”

He clarified that his year-to-year mindset doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll contemplate retirement on an annual basis.

For now, Sidney Crosby is considering playing for Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championships, scheduled from May 10-26 in Czechia.