Lock Him Up and Throw Away the Key

Sidney Crosby has just been inked to a five year, $43 million contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2012-13 season. Tap of the stick to my super junior reporter Chris...

$43 million dollars - for you math geniuses out there, that shakes out to about $9 million a year. That's a lot of shiny red lip gloss, folks.

(Okay, I can be serious and mature, I swear.)

I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Crosby, although I hide it really well. And $9 million a year is a lot of money, an amount that a lot of players are not worth. Briere? Please. Jagr? Don't make me laugh. But as much as I hate to admit it, other than Ovechkin there is no one more deserving of this contract for what he has added to his team than Crosby. The kid is a darn good player despite my best efforts to point out his shortcomings and will be for years to come.

As Caps fans, this actually does effect us - if as it has been hinted Ovie is in negotiations for a contract extension of his own, this pretty much cements the asking price. The Caps really can't offer him any less than $9 million a year...although if anyone's worth it, it's Ovechkin. Anyone here in DC not willing to give that kid as much as he wants if it means he stays in a Caps uniform until he's old and gray? Exactly.

It's really an interesting deal on the Penguins' part. You have to think that five years for their golden boy compared with some of these life sentences being handed out across the NHL is a little strange. To me its just a sign that, like many native Pittsburghians, Sidney has no interest in spending the rest of his life there. (If he continues to act like native Pittsburghians, we may even see him here in DC.)

There's no way that, given the chance, the Pens don't give him the maximum salary they can if they can also lock him up for as long as possible. Under this deal Crosby will just have to wait one more year to test the free agent market at the ripe old age of 26 (?), and in the meantime he'll have a nice fat wallet and job security (like that was ever in doubt). Pretty sweet deal for Sid.

Serious, mature time done.

Insert requisite "now he can afford to get his own place" joke...here.

Update: Eternally ten steps ahead of the rest of us thanks to their fabulous connections, the boys over at OFB have Ovechkin's reaction to the contract. He's pretty smart, that Ovie.