$idney Cro$by Ca$hes In Big Time – 12 years, $104.4 M

You can put those rumours that the Leafs are going to get Sidney Crosby to bed. They hadn’t really started yet, but in the last year of his contract you know they were inevitable, as it happens with every big name free agent.

Crosby and the Penguins have agreed to a 12 year, $104.4 M contract extension today that will be signed on July 1st, the first day that he is eligible to sign an extension.  He will be playing for the same average of $8.7 M per season that he played for the past 5 seasons.

It is a risky play by the Penguins, given the fact that their captain suffered multiple concussions over the past 2 seasons and was held to 22 games in 2011-12.  He did have 37 points in those games, and if he is healthy there isn’t a better player on the planet, like him or not.

It is also a risk given the uncertainty of the CBA negotiations and what the new CBA will look like once it finally gets settled.