Crosby, Penguins in long-term contract

PITTSBURGH, June 28 (UPI) -- Sidney Crosby has agreed to a new contract that will keep him linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins through 2026, the NHL team said Thursday.

Crosby, 24, is expected to sign the agreement early next week after the NHL free agency period begins Sunday. The 12-year deal is worth $104.4 million. It becomes effective with the 2013-14 season.

"This is a great day for hockey and tremendous news for the Pittsburgh Penguins and our fans," Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement Thursday.

"We are grateful for all that Sidney Crosby has done for our franchise since coming to Pittsburgh in 2005, both on and off the ice, and we look forward to having him in a Penguins uniform for the rest of his career. He is an excellent player and an even better person and he is a great ambassador for the Penguins and for Pittsburgh."

Crosby will play next season under the terms of a five-year deal he signed in 2007. He reportedly will be paid $7.5 million next season.

Crosby played 24 regular-season games last season due to concussion-related injuries. He was originally injured in January 2011 and missed the rest of that season returning briefly to the ice last November.

In his 434 regular-season games, Crosby has scored 223 goals and totaled 609 points. He was voted the league's Most Valuable Player in 2007, the same season he led the NHL in scoring. Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with Crosby on the ice.