Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin And Kris Letang By The Numbers: The Stats Behind Penguins’ Legendary Big Three

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Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin And Kris Letang By The Numbers: The Stats Behind Penguins’ Legendary Big Three originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

For two decades, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have anchored the Pittsburgh Penguins, outlasting nearly every other constant Big Three in professional sports.

This past January, the trio became the first in the history of the four major North American sports leagues to skate (or play) in 1,000 regular-season games together. This milestone dwarfs the durability of the NBA’s Spurs (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan) and outpaces the overlap of the MLB’s "Core Four" Yankees. Most impressively, they secured three Stanley Cups while navigating twenty years of a salary cap system specifically designed to dismantle veteran cores.

Beyond the trophies, the trio maintains a statistical monopoly. Crosby is the NHL’s active leader in career points, Malkin is in the top four in active goals, and Letang holds the record for most postseason goals by an active defenseman. Season 20 has officially come to a close with the Penguins' first-round loss to the Flyers, and though there is uncertainty for the future, fans should appreciate the greatness the trio has produced in Pittsburgh.

Here is a look at the Big Three of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang, by the numbers.

Penguins Big Three, By the Numbers​

To visualize the magnitude of their 20-year run, here is a breakdown of the statistics that define the Crosby, Malkin, and Letang era.

Metric	Total
Seasons Together	20 (2006–2026)
Games Played	3,924
Playoff Appearances	17
Stanley Cups	3 (2009, 2016, 2017)
Combined Points	3,974
Combined Goals	1,365
Coaching Changes (League-wide)	115+
Hart Trophies (MVP)	3

H/T - Andrew Fillipponi

The 1,000-game milestone, reached in January 2026, serves as the definitive benchmark for the trio’s durability. This level of stability is nearly double that of most iconic sports dynasties, making their shared career a statistical outlier that will likely never be replicated in the modern era.

Penguins Big Three Compared to Other Dynasties​

Trio	League	Seasons	Games Together	Championships
Crosby, Malkin, Letang	NHL	20	1,000	3
Duncan, Parker, Ginobili	NBA	14	718	4
Jeter, Posada, Rivera	MLB	17	N/A	5
Bird, McHale, Parish	NBA	12	635	3
Aikman, Smith, Irvin	NFL	10	~130	3

The Penguins’ Big Three are the only trio in the history of the four major North American sports to play 20 seasons together on a single team. While the Yankees’ "Core Four" of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte is often the benchmark for longevity, they only spent 14 seasons together as a unit of four, and Jeter, Posada, and Rivera peaked at 17 seasons as a trio.

Even when compared to the NBA’s gold standard — the San Antonio Spurs’ trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili — the Penguins’ group stands alone. The Spurs’ legendary trio retired with 718 regular-season games together; Crosby, Malkin, and Letang eclipsed that mark years ago, reaching the 1,000-game milestone in January 2026.

Comparing championships, and the Penguins still stand out. Unlike the 1990s Yankees or the 1980s Celtics, the Penguins won all three titles in a hard cap system designed to dismantle dynasties. Pittsburgh's titles in 2009 and 2016-17 represent a decade-long bridge between two different generations of teammates.

Penguins Big Three 2025-26 stats​

Despite being the oldest core in the league, these numbers confirm they remained high-level contributors. Crosby and Malkin both maintained a scoring pace of over 1.00 points per game, a rarity for players in their 20th professional season.

Player	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-
Sidney Crosby	68	29	45	74	0
Evgeni Malkin	56	19	42	61	+13
Kris Letang	74	3	31	34	-4

More Penguins​

• Latest Penguins news
• 2025-26 Penguins schedule
• 2025-26 Penguins roster
• Complete history of Penguins championships

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