Who has been Sidney Crosby's top Penguins linemate? Chris Kunitz by a landslide

When Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby retires, discussions will be held about which winger he forged the best connection with during his illustrious career.

Unless something changes over the next six or eight or 10 years, these discussions should be very short.

As of now, the answer is Chris Kunitz, and it’s not even a close race.

No winger has scored more goals assisted by Crosby. No winger has assisted on more Crosby goals.

When Kunitz looks back on his career — he officially announced his retirement on Tuesday — his ability to complement Crosby better than anyone else will be among his greatest accomplishments.

“I don’t know why we had those couple of really good stretches, but I enjoyed doing it and didn’t have to change my game when I got to go play with him and obviously tried to make the most of it when you can play with an unbelievable talent like Sid,” Kunitz said on a conference call Wednesday.

Kunitz said it was hard to explain exactly why he had such a connection with Crosby, but the theories he offered were insightful and perfectly plausible.

First, when Kunitz came to the Penguins in a 2009 trade, he already had experience playing with high-level talent. His Anaheim teammates included Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.

“I always found they enjoyed playing with me because I would go in on the forecheck, disturb it and get pucks back and go to the net,” Kunitz said. “There wasn’t a lot of change in the way I played.”

Consistency is an attribute Crosby values in a linemate, but so is speed. Kunitz always had the skating ability to keep up with his all-star centerman.

“I think it was just the understanding that if you can play that style of game, he’s a person who wants to speed through the middle of the ice and wants the puck,” Kunitz said. “I always found it easier to give it to a really good centerman who wants the puck than to carry it myself.”

With their styles of play meshing nicely, Kunitz spent much of his eight-plus seasons with the Penguins stapled to Crosby’s left hip. That familiarity led to even greater success, Kunitz suggested.

“I think just the way we thought about the game and the evolution of a friendship, being on a team together so long and the comfort level,” Kunitz said. “I think it’s something that doesn’t happen in professional sports very much. Guys don’t get to spend those many years together for salary cap reasons or guys getting moved and traded.

“I think throughout those years, it became an enjoyment to try and keep up and play with him, but I also got put in really good situations by coaches and management. Just wanted to go out there and fill in however you could to have success.”

Who has been Sidney Crosby’s best linemate with the Penguins?

— Jonathan Bombulie (@BombulieTrib) July 31, 2019

Here’s a list of the 10 wingers Crosby has connected with most frequently in his career. They’re ranked by number of goals scored that Crosby assisted on.

1. Chris Kunitz (83): It’s fitting that when Crosby recorded the 1,000th point of his career on Feb. 16, 2017 against Winnipeg, it was on a Kunitz goal. Kunitz did everything Crosby needed a winger to do. He hit, skated and found soft spots in the defense.

2. Patric Hornqvist (40): Crosby and Hornqvist haven’t always meshed perfectly — probably because they both like to frequent the same dirty areas of the ice — but the results speak for themselves. That’s especially true on the power play, where Crosby knows how to best make use of Hornqvist’s net-front presence.

3. Jake Guentzel (38): If Kunitz doesn’t end up being considered the top linemate of Crosby’s career, that honor will belong to Guentzel. He’s No. 3 on this list with a bullet. Last season, 25 of Guentzel’s 40 goals were assisted by Crosby.

4. Pascal Dupuis (36): The speedy Dupuis was a perfect complement to Crosby and Kunitz. His skating ability backed off defenders, and he backchecked like a madman when his line didn’t have the puck.

5. Phil Kessel (29): The duo never found any consistent chemistry at even strength, but Crosby and Kessel often formed a potent combination on the power play. Kessel’s pinpoint passing agreed with Crosby’s game, and it will be missed now that the popular right wing is off to Arizona.

6. Mark Recchi (24): Recchi was 37 by the time he rejoined the Penguins for Crosby’s first two-plus seasons with the team, but he still had the speed and the smarts to complement his young centerman well.

7. Ryan Malone (21): Malone more frequently played on a line with Evgeni Malkin, but his traditional power-forward game worked well with Crosby at times, too.

8. Conor Sheary (20): Sheary clicked with Crosby because of his quickness and ability to play a give-and-go game in small spaces. He had 93 points while with the Penguins, and 51.6% of them came on goals Crosby figured into in some way.

9. Colby Armstrong (18): Armstrong’s easy going nature provided a good balance for the intense Crosby in his early days as a pro. On the ice, he complemented Crosby by hitting and going to the high-traffic areas of the ice.

10. James Neal (16): Neal will undoubtedly be higher on the list of Malkin’s all-time great linemates than he will be on Crosby’s, but like Kessel, he was a key part of a potent power play that the captain spearheaded.

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