Fans celebrate return of 'Big 3,' long for more playoff success as Penguins open season

When they took the ice Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena for the Penguins’ 2022-23 season opener, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang made history.

This season begins the 17th consecutive that Crosby, Malkin and Letang have played together in Pittsburgh, tying Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees (1995-2011) for the longest tenure of a North American professional sports franchise trio.

Whether the venerable Penguins’ triumvirate would continue together was a major question mark for the franchise this past offseason, with both Letang and Malkin entering free agency.

After Letang inked a 6-year, $36.6 million contract in July, the Penguins signed Malkin for four years at $24.4 million just days later. The team’s “Big Three” remained intact for the foreseeable future.

As fans poured into the arena Thursday to watch the Penguins face the Arizona Coyotes in the season opener, some reflected on the privilege it has been for them to watch Crosby, Malkin and Letang play together for the better part of two decades.

“For my entire lifetime, to see these guys get to play together is pretty cool,” said Brian Ashton of Bethel Park. “You look at things like the Steel Curtain that I hear my parents and older folks talk about … that’s really what we’re seeing here. This is probably one of the last times you’re going to see this. It’s almost a generational-type thing. You’re never going to get a group like this together again.”

Led by Crosby, 35, Malkin, 36, and Letang, 35, the Penguins have put together a streak of 16 consecutive postseason appearances, the most among major North American sports leagues. They won the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

“Certainly, coming from a nostalgia perspective, it’s great,” said Nick Gerdun, a Hampton native. “I mean, the happiness is definitely there. … Everyone’s got high expectations for the Penguins, (and) everyone looks at the Penguins as a top-tier franchise.”

But, for remarkable as the Pittsburgh careers of Crosby, Malkin and Letang have all been, will their continued presence with the Penguins translate to success this season?

That is a question fans of the team have grappled with, taking into account that the Penguins have failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs in four straight seasons.

While on the whole, fans are doubtless appreciative of the consistency the Penguins have displayed during this era, some expressed concerns with this year’s team.

Namely in the contracts of Letang and Malkin eating up any remaining cap space that the Penguins could have possibly used to bring in some fresh sets of helping hands.

“They kept the core together, which is great — we all love it — but the core hasn’t been doing all that well in the playoffs lately,” said Jim Gerdun, Nick’s father. “Because of the investment in the core, they’re a little weak in supporting cast.”

In the young man’s game that is the NHL, the Penguins have an average player age of 30.2 years, per Cap Friendly. They’re the oldest team in the league.

Matt Klotz attended Thursday’s game with his wife, Candy, driving four hours from Mansfield in Central Pennsylvania in celebration of their 10th anniversary.

Klotz expects the Penguins to stretch their active consecutive postseason appearance record to 17 seasons by late next spring.

“Playoffs? Yes, but we’ll see how deep it goes,” he said.

All told, a blend of excitement, concern and cautious optimism may best describe how the Penguins faithful is feeling about the team’s prospects this season.

“I was here last Friday at the preseason game, and they played really well,” said Jacob Hankey of Kittanning. “I’m not saying they’ll make the (Stanley) Cup, but it’s their year to make it past the first round. I have a good feeling about them, and I feel like they’ll make it past. Definitely a change of scenery from the last few seasons.”