By his second season, he led the NHL with 120 points to capture the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the youngest player and the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league.

Joining Crosby on Rimouski's top line were wingers Dany Roussin and Marc-Antoine Pouliot, who finished second and third in league-scoring with 116 and 114 points respectively.

Despite the loss, Crosby was named to the Tournament All-Star team and captured the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the competition's leading scorer with 11 points (6 goals and 5 assists) over 5 games.

"[29] Although hopes were high in Pittsburgh for the club to succeed, largely in part to the beginning of Crosby's NHL career and bolstered by the acquisitions of Sergei Gonchar, Žigmund Pálffy, and Mark Recchi, the Penguins still finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

[citation needed] Nevertheless, Crosby's first NHL campaign was a personal success as he established franchise records in assists (63) and points (102) for a rookie, both of which were previously held by Mario Lemieux.

[36] Crosby's second NHL season also saw significant improvements for the Penguins franchise as a whole, as the emergence of rookie forwards, eventual Calder Trophy-winner Evgeni Malkin and runner-up Jordan Staal complemented the club's offence.

[45] In the NHL's first Winter Classic (with a record crowd of 71,217 fans in attendance), Crosby scored the shootout winner in heavy snowfall to defeat the Buffalo Sabres.

[46] However, two and a half weeks later, on January 18, 2008, Crosby suffered a high ankle sprain crashing leg-first into the boards in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

[53] In addition to Crosby's return to the line-up late in the season, the Penguins acquired star winger Marián Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers at the trade deadline, placing the club in a strong position to make a deep playoff run.

After then defeating the New York Rangers and archrival Philadelphia Flyers, each in five games, the Penguins reached the final round for the first time since 1992, to face the Detroit Red Wings.

[59] Entering the 2009 playoffs as the defending Prince of Wales Trophy winners, the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round before meeting the Washington Capitals for a highly publicized second-round matchup.

[61] Following a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals, Crosby opted against recent NHL tradition and picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy, which he had left untouched the previous year.

[69] Crosby won the Mark Messier Leadership Award, getting recognized as a "superior leader within the sport, setting a positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to the community".

After experiencing several concussion symptoms, Crosby did not return for the rest of the season, including the 2011 playoffs, where the fourth-seeded Penguins would lose in seven games in the first round coincidentally to the Lightning, who finished as the fifth seed and surrendered a 3–1 series lead in the process.

During this time, Crosby was a regular attendee of meetings taking place between National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) representatives and NHL owners.

Going into their second-round series with the Rangers, Crosby looked to end a long playoff goal drought, which dated back to the 2013 conference finals against the Boston Bruins.

By the time Johnston was fired on December 12, 2015, after posting a 15–10–3 record through 28 games, some media outlets began speculating that Crosby had aged out of his prime scoring years.

[119] His two-way game also received league-wide praise, with Hockey Hall of Fame head coach Scotty Bowman stating that Crosby would be a good candidate for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward.

[144] In game 5, the Penguins' captain delivered a dominant performance, adding three assists in a 6–0 win to pass Lemieux for most Stanley Cup Finals points (20) in franchise history.

[179] Two days later, he managed a goal and two assists in the Penguins' 7–2 victory in game 4 and 3–1 series lead, becoming the sixth player in league history to record 200 career points in the playoffs.

[183] In the 2022 off-season, it was reported that Crosby played a key role in facilitating a new deal between the Penguins and Evgeni Malkin, after the latter had initially announced he would test free agency.

[186] On April 8, Crosby registered his 1500th career point in a 5–1 win against the Detroit Red Wings, the fifteenth NHL player to hit that milestone, and in the sixth-fewest games (1188).

[187] As the poor performance of the team continued into the spring, the Penguins' league-best 16-year playoff streak increasingly came into jeopardy, and by the final weeks of the season they were battling the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders for the two Eastern Conference wildcard positions.

[189] Much recrimination ensued among fans and commentators, with many calling for the sacking of Penguins general manager Ron Hextall for his perceived mistakes in constructing the team in the previous 2022 off-season.

[190][191][189][192] Hextall and team executive Brian Burke were both fired the day after the season ended, with owners Fenway Sports Group promising "the goal of contending for the Stanley Cup has not changed.

"[195] On April 1, 2024, following a 5–2 win over the New York Rangers, Crosby became the second player in NHL history to average a point per game for the 19th consecutive season, joining Wayne Gretzky.

After going pointless in the quarterfinal and semifinal against Russia and Slovakia respectively, Crosby scored the winning goal 7 minutes and 40 seconds into overtime against the United States in the gold medal game.

"[235] In an April 2018 article for The Washington Post, other players, teammates and coaches highlighted his work ethic and strive for greatness as a major factor to Crosby's lasting success.

"While his natural ability – powerful skating, pistol-quick hands, uncommon feel – made him a phenom, his creative, distinct capacity for work has enabled him to stay atop the NHL.

[238] In that same year, Fox Sports ranked Crosby 15th on their "21 greatest athletes of the 21st century (so far)" list,[239] and TSN named him the eighth-best NHL player of all time.