Penguins’ Sidney Crosby passes Thornton for seventh in NHL all-time assists

Sidney Crosby’s start to the 2026-27 season might not be as productive as hoped, but his legend continued to grow on Friday night, as he rose up the NHL’s all-time assist list. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain posted the 1,110th assist of his illustrious career against the Colorado Avalanche in a 5-2 loss. While the result didn’t fall Pittsburgh’s way, the point pushed Crosby past Joe Thornton on the league’s all-time assists list, into seventh place. 

Crosby now sits 25 assists behind Paul Coffey, whose 1,135 assists are good for sixth place, but well behind Wayne Gretzky’s lead of 1,963 assists, which remains more career assists than any other NHL player has points. In terms of points, Crosby is also approaching the top five, with his 1,766 only 32 short of fifth-place in all-time points, Ron Francis.

At 39, Crosby’s impact has slightly diminished with the Penguins. Playing alongside Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin in his 22nd season with the club, the trio has become the longest-serving trio in NHL history. However, Crosby has two goals and three assists for five points in eight games, while the Penguins have managed only three wins in those contests. 

Despite being in the twilight of his career, Crosby will look to return to at least a point-per-game pace in the near future. 

Last season, he netted 29 goals and 45 assists for 74 points in 68 games, missing time due to an injury sustained during Canada’s silver-medal run at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics. Through his entire 22-year career, he has never finished a season below a point-per-game total. 

After falling to the Avalanche on Friday, Crosby and the Penguins will turn their attention towards a Saturday night clash with the Vegas Golden Knights as the back end of back-to-back road games. After that, they complete a road swing with a Monday night battle against the Utah Mammoth before returning home for three games in front of their home crowd.