Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have just begun their 21st season in the same dressing room. No trio had gone that far in NHL history.

Six seasons clear

Across 109 seasons, 60 teams and 7,905 players, 669 trios have spent at least 10 seasons together with the same franchise. Only one has passed 15.

Behind the three Penguins, six trios share second place, all at 15 seasons:

  • Alex Delvecchio, Gordie Howe and Marcel Pronovost — Detroit, 1950-51 to 1964-65
  • Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty — Los Angeles, 2008-09 to 2022-23
  • Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick — Los Angeles, 2007-08 to 2021-22
  • Jean Beliveau, Claude Provost and Henri Richard — Montreal, 1955-56 to 1969-70
  • Ralph Backstrom, Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard — Montreal, 1956-57 to 1970-71
  • Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson — Washington, 2009-10 to 2023-24

Two franchises place two trios there: Los Angeles and the Canadiens.

What those seasons returned

Over the 21 seasons of Crosby, Malkin and Letang, Pittsburgh won 3 Stanley Cups: 2009, 2016 and 2017.

Over the 15 seasons of Beliveau, Provost and Henri Richard, the Canadiens won 9 — 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969. The first 5 in a row.

6 fewer seasons, 6 more Cups.

The comparison does not hold, and that needs saying

From 1955-56 to 1966-67, the NHL had 6 teams. 4 of them made the playoffs, and 2 rounds were enough to lift the Cup. The season ran 70 games.

In 2008-09 the league had 30 teams, 16 of them in the playoffs, and 4 rounds to get through.

Winning 9 times in 15 years in a 6-team league and winning 3 times in 21 years in a 30-team league are not the same feat. A Cup count measures the era as much as the team.

What makes the Penguins record remarkable is therefore not the silverware, it is the duration itself. In the 6-team era a player belonged to his club more or less for life — staying together 15 seasons was not really a choice. Crosby, Malkin and Letang have come through 21 seasons of salary cap, free agency and trades.

How these numbers are built

A season counts as spent together when all three players appear for the same franchise in the same regular season. Skaters and goaltenders — which is what brings in Jonathan Quick and both Los Angeles trios.

The count is by franchise, not by team. Otherwise a trio would be cut in two by a relocation: Mike Modano, Derian Hatcher and Richard Matvichuk spent 11 seasons together, from the Minnesota North Stars to the Dallas Stars.

Only one of these seven counts is still running. The Penguins 21st season has just begun.