The Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which fueled the retirement speculation surrounding center Sidney Crosby. But the captain made his intentions very clear while representing Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.

“Not at all," said Crosby when asked about his retirement directly.

The 38-year-old explained that his year-to-year contract approach is because of the team’s current situation rather than his own personal plans.

"I said year to year because of where the team is at," Crosby said. "It just makes sense, whether it's our cap, who we have coming in and out, just to have that flexibility. It's got nothing to do with how long I want to play. It's not like that at all." 

Crosby went on to compete at the Winter Olympics this season, in Milan, where he suffered a knee injury in the quarterfinals and got sidelined. Canada then lost to the United States in overtime.

"I definitely want to keep playing for as many years as possible," he said.

Crosby scored 29 goals and 74 points in 68 games this season, and this is his 21st consecutive point-per-game season. Now he has only one year left to become a free agent in his $8.7 million contract, which is set to expire in July, 2027.

The player hinted that he would discuss his future with the general manager, Kyle Dubas, and agent Pat Brisson, later this summer, probably for a contract extension that could keep him with the team for a while.

Flyers Eliminate Penguins in Six-Game Series

The Philadelphia Flyers won against the Penguins with a 1-0 lead in overtime in Game 6 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. They won the best-of-seven series 4-2. Cam York scored his first playoff goal with 2:28 left in overtime.

Philadelphia took control early with a 3-0 lead in the series and a win 5-2 in Game 3, but the Penguins picked up and went on to win Games 4 and 5 to extend the series, but fell short later.

The Flyers' goaltender, Dan Vladar, made 42 saves in this intense game, adding to the Flyers’ dominance in the game. Crosby made five points in the six playoff games but couldn't support his team further than that.

After this defeat, Crosby talked about how difficult it was to process the playoff exit.

"Sometimes, when you're coming off a playoff loss, your mind is just in so many different places," he said. "You want to keep playing, but then sometimes, you relax a little bit and just need some rest. So I was just taking my time."

The series was won by Philadelphia for the first time since they defeated the Penguins at home in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar