By Grant Brisbee, Andy McCullough and Stephen J. Nesbitt

Every week,​ we​ ask a selected group of our baseball​ writers​ — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.

There are two weeks left in the Major League Baseball regular season. Each team has four series remaining between them and whatever is on their October calendar: playoffs or pool time.

But November looks the same for all of ’em.

That’s awards season, baby!

We’ve paired this week’s Power Rankings with picking each team’s top individual award candidate — MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Jomboy Lip-Reading of the Year, et cetera. This isn’t to suggest each team has someone with a shot to win. Far from it. Some races have basically been called. But it’s still worth tipping a cap to each team’s best bet.

Record: 90-59
Last Power Ranking: 2

Top award candidate: Zack Wheeler, NL Cy Young Award

This might be Wheeler’s best season with the Phillies, which is saying something, considering how excellent he has been since he joined the team heading into 2020. He has accumulated more wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, than any other pitcher during that time frame. He is operating at a high level as the postseason approaches. In his last eight starts, Wheeler has posted a 1.76 ERA while striking out more than a batter per inning. He is the ace of the best team in baseball, the sort of horse Philadelphia intends to ride back to the World Series. — Andy McCullough

Record: 88-61
Last Power Ranking: 1

Top award candidate: Shohei Ohtani, NL MVP

I know this will be a controversial choice because Ohtani doesn’t even play in the field (!!!), but I’m thinking this will be the first time in baseball history that an injured pitcher wins the NL MVP. It would be his third MVP, which means he’d join the three-timers-and-more club:

• Jimmie Foxx
• Joe DiMaggio
• Stan Musial
• Roy Campanella
• Yogi Berra
• Mickey Mantle
• Mike Schmidt
• Alex Rodríguez
• Albert Pujols
• Mike Trout
• Barry Bonds (7)

That’s a ridiculous list, but Ohtani is a ridiculous player. He’ll fit in just fine. — Grant Brisbee

Record: 87-63
Last Power Ranking: 3

Top award candidate: Aaron Judge, AL MVP

Well, duh. He is having the best season of his career, even in the midst of a brief slump. (Judge went 16 games without hitting a home run before blasting a grand slam in a stirring victory over the Red Sox on Friday.) The downswing will prevent Judge from breaking his own American League home run record of 62, but he still may wrangle his second MVP trophy out of the clutches of Kansas City sensation Bobby Witt Jr. Witt is a five-tool dynamo and a delight to watch — but Judge has come close to replicating the production of Barry Bonds at his peak while playing center field. — McCullough

Record: 86-63
Last Power Ranking: 4

Top award candidate: Pat Murphy, NL Manager of the Year

If your predecessor walks for a record contract and your ace is traded away but your team doesn’t miss a beat — another 90-win season, another division title — yeah, you’re winning this award. It’s a pretty easy pick. So, here’s a second award candidate: Jackson Chourio, NL Rookie of the Year. He was so overmatched in April and May that many wondered if he’d head to Triple A.

Before June 1: .210/.254/.327, 5 HR, 61 wRC+, 27 K%, 5.7 BB%
Since June 1: .309/.368/.555, 16 HR, 152 wRC+, 16.4 K%, 7.8 BB%

Turns out, Chourio figures things out just fine on the fly at the major-league level. Another reason to give his manager an award! — Stephen Nesbitt

Record: 86-64
Last Power Ranking: 7

Top award candidate: Emmanuel Clase, AL Reliever of the Year

Let’s start with Clase’s case for Reliever of the Year as of this writing: 0.66 ERA, .659 WHIP, MLB-leading 45 saves in 68 1/3 innings. Got it? Got it.

Now for the bigger argument: Cy Young. No reliever has won the award in 21 years, and all signs point to the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal winning this time. But, man, what Clase’s doing is incredibly rare. I could only find 10 pitchers with a sub-1 ERA and at least 68 innings pitched, most recently 2018 Blake Treinen. Only two have matched Clase’s ERA.

2012 Fernando Rodney: 0.60 ERA, 48 saves in 74 2/3 innings
1990 Dennis Eckersley: 0.61 ERA, 48 saves in 73 1/3 innings

Both finished fifth in Cy Young voting and got down-ballot MVP votes. (Eck won both awards in 1992 when he had a 1.91 ERA and 51 saves.) — Nesbitt

Emmanuel Clase doing Emmanuel Clase things. pic.twitter.com/OEhKj7jQWy

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 17, 2024

Record: 86-65
Last Power Ranking: 6

Top award candidate: Jurickson Profar, NL Comeback Player of the Year

Because it’s a more common tale, this award often goes to the best player who was injured the previous season and then came back to post his usual numbers. Back in 2011, Lance Berkman won it over Ryan Voglesong, who had one of the better comeback stories in modern history. Not that I still think about these things. But it’s the perfect example of how the vote usually goes. 

Profar wasn’t injured much last season. He just stunk it up and got released. This year, he was an All-Star for the first time, and he’s going to be a key part of the Padres’ postseason hopes. It’s refreshing, honestly. This award should go to players who stunk the season before. Profar has the best case in years. — Brisbee

Record: 84-66
Last Power Ranking: 5

Top award candidate: Gunnar Henderson, AL MVP

No, he will not take home the hardware, not in a season graced by Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. But a year after winning the American League Rookie of the Year award, Henderson leveled up in 2024. During a season in which many of his young teammates have dealt with extended slumps or nagging injuries, Henderson boosted his OPS from last year by about 100 points while playing solid defense at shortstop. He has struck out less, walked more and made consistent solid contact. It’s an excellent combination. He just turned 23 this summer. He figures to be a fixture in this discussion for years to come. — McCullough

Record: 83-66
Last Power Ranking: 8

Top award candidate: Mike Hazen, NL Executive of the Year

OK, so Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery haven’t quite worked out yet, but that’s an argument for Hazen winning this. He created a roster that could withstand dud seasons from their two biggest free agents. Randal Grichuk wouldn’t be a bad choice for Comeback Player of the Year. Corbin Carroll might be a good candidate for the award based on the difference between his first and second halves. Every regular in the lineup has an OPS+ of 100 or better, and the Diamondbacks are absolutely lapping the rest of baseball in runs scored, in no small part because of the creative additions to the roster, both during the season and in the previous offseason. The trade for Eugenio Suárez alone should make Hazen a strong contender for the award. — Brisbee

Record: 82-68
Last Power Ranking: 9

Top award candidate: Bobby Witt Jr., AL MVP

If WAR is the answer, this race is still neck-and-neck between Witt and Aaron Judge. By FanGraphs WAR, Judge leads, 10 to 9.7. By Baseball-Reference WAR, Judge is up, 9.7 to 8.9. The odds remain in Judge’s favor after he snapped a 16-game homerless drought with two big flies over the weekend. But Witt is still authoring an incredible season. He’s in line for a batting title, hitting .331 with 31 homers and 28 steals. He also has 17 outs above average at shortstop, tied with Francisco Lindor and Marcus Semien for second among infielders, trailing only Andrés Giménez (18 OAA). We may have jinxed Witt with the hitting-.400-at-home headline. He’s only batting .379 at home now. That’s on us. — Nesbitt

Record: 81-69
Last Power Ranking: 11

Top award candidate: Yordan Alvarez, AL MVP

Quietly one of the best hitters of his generation. Or of any generation, for that matter. Alvarez might put up yet another OPS+ over 170, which would be his third time doing so. The only players to have more of those seasons before turning 28: Ty Cobb, Mike Trout, Frank Thomas, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Johnny Mize, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker. Alvarez is on the next tier down, which means he’s only keeping up with guys like Albert Pujols, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. He’s never won an MVP award, and he won’t this year. But he’s deserving of something. So, here, take this acknowledgment in a power rankings. Print it out and stick it to the fridge with a magnet that has a funny saying on it. You’ve earned it. — Brisbee

Record: 81-68
Last Power Ranking: 10

Top award candidate: Chris Sale, NL Cy Young Award

For baseball fans of a certain vintage — the type of people old enough to have hard opinions about the relative merits of Timbaland’s “Shock Value” and “Shock Value II” — it has been charming to see Sale dominating this season like he did in the previous decade. Sale was the best pitcher in the 2010s to never win the Cy Young. He finished in the top six in voting in seven consecutive seasons but never topped the balloting. That figures to change in 2024. Sale entered this week on track to win the Triple Crown with a 17-3 record, a 2.35 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings. At 35, after several years disrupted by injury, he has authored a remarkable comeback story — and been the best pitcher in baseball. — McCullough

Record: 81-68
Last Power Ranking: 12

Top award candidate: Francisco Lindor, NL MVP

Lindor’s importance to the Mets was apparent long before his back injury sidelined him for a pair of crushing defeats to the Phillies this past weekend. If he can return to the lineup soon, there will be a fierce MVP debate pitting Lindor, a strong shortstop, against Shohei Ohtani, who has not played the field this season. Ohtani’s heroics at the plate may make him the first designated hitter to win MVP. But Lindor has put together a strong case. He has been more valuable than Ohtani, according to FanGraphs’s version of WAR (while Ohtani has the edge, according to Baseball-Reference). One point in Lindor’s favor — besides the whole “playing a position every day” thing: He has been reliable with runners in scoring position, posting an .847 OPS. — McCullough

Record: 79-70
Last Power Ranking: 13

Top award candidate: Carlos Santana, AL Gold Glove

Can the Comeback Player of the Year award go to a guy with 50 fewer games than the previous year? Asking for a different Carlos (Correa).

Let’s set that aside and stump for Santana to win his first Gold Glove. The 38-year-old has been a solid contributor with the stick this season, with 22 homers and a 113 OPS+, and has continued playing superlative defense at first base. He has 13 outs above average. The only other first baseman in his orbit is Christian Walker, the NL’s two-time defending Gold Glove first baseman, who has 12 OAA. — Nesbitt

Record: 77-73
Last Power Ranking: 14

Top award candidate: Cal Raleigh, AL Gold Glove

The Mariners have an absurdly talented rotation, with five different starters with at least 19 starts and an ERA between 2.38 and 3.62. Those five starters have combined to walk 152 batters as of this writing; Randy Johnson walked 152 batters by himself in 1991.

You can’t avoid walks if your catcher isn’t stealing strikes, though, and Raleigh is one of the best at doing it. He leads all AL catchers in defensive metrics according to both FanGraphs and Baseball Savant, and it isn’t especially close. He’ll almost certainly be one of the finalists after the season, and he’s earned it. — Brisbee

Tarik Skubal has impressed this season, with a 16-4 record and a 2.50 ERA. Will he be Detroit’s fifth Cy Young winner? (Duane Burleson / Getty Images)

Record: 77-73
Last Power Ranking: 16

Top award candidate: Tarik Skubal, AL Cy Young Award

A Cy Young has been in Skubal’s sights since he returned from Tommy John rehab before the 2023 All-Star game. He dominated down the stretch last season, with a 2.80 ERA, and has delivered more of the same this season. Skubal is 16-4 while leading the league in ERA (2.50), FIP (2.56) and strikeouts (214) across 180 innings. The 27-year-old lefty has been brilliant all season, and lately, the Tigers have matched his level, surging into the postseason race as the finish line nears. It’s still a long shot but not out of the question, and that’s wild. Skubal would be the Tigers’ fifth Cy Young winner, joining Denny McLain (who did it twice), Willie Hernández, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. — Nesbitt

Record: 76-73
Last Power Ranking: 15

Top award candidate(s): Shota Imanaga and Michael Busch, NL Rookie of the Year

Neither Imanaga nor Busch has a real shot of winning the award, but since they’re equally unlikely, we’ll recognize both. The Cubs acquired Busch from the Dodgers for prospects Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris — now ranked Nos. 5 and 12, respectively, in the Dodgers system by Baseball America. The trade may work out wonderfully for both sides. Busch has blasted 20 homers with a .793 OPS (122 OPS+) while playing plus defense at first base for the Cubs. The 31-year-old All-Star Imanaga, signed to an entirely reasonable contract with team options through 2028, has been terrific in his first season stateside, allowing three earned runs or fewer in 24 of 27 starts and posting a 3.03 ERA. — Nesbitt

Record: 75-75
Last Power Ranking: 17

Top award candidate: Tanner Houck, AL Cy Young Award

In an odd year for starting pitchers, Houck should land on a few Cy Young Award ballots, even if he entered the season’s final fortnight with a losing record. No longer do starters get punished as harshly by voters for their win-loss results, and Houck has been a stable presence for Boston all season. He has kept hitters off-balance by leaning heavily on his sweeper and his splitter. In turn, he’s kept opposing lineups from going deep, which is never an easy task in the American League East. — McCullough

Record: 74-75
Last Power Ranking: 18

Top award candidate: Ryan Helsley, NL Reliever of the Year

After missing much of the 2023 season with a forearm strain, Helsley has been both healthy and excellent this year, leading the league with 44 saves — more than doubling his previous high of 19 — and posting a 2.19 ERA. Helsley’s fastball averages 99.6 mph, though this season, his slider is his primary pitch — and for good reason: opposing hitters are batting .164 against it. Helsley has been more hittable in 2024, with a higher WHIP (1.15) and lower strikeout rate (28.7 percent) than he had the previous two seasons as the Cardinals’ closer. But despite the traffic, he’s limited damage by missing barrels. — Nesbitt

Record: 73-77
Last Power Ranking: 19

Top award candidate: Junior Caminero, AL MVP (in 2027)

We write about Caminero relatively often in this space, so forgive us for repeating ourselves, but he’s been a burst of energy in an otherwise bleak season. The Rays underachieved early in the year. The front office tore down the roster at the deadline. Taj Bradley ran out of gas. (Well, at least Ryan Pepiot proved to be a better bet than Tyler Glasnow.) The reasons for long-term optimism center around faith in the team’s baseball operations department and hope in players like Caminero, the 21-year-old infielder who is capable of ferocious contact and ferocious whiffs in equal measure. — McCullough

Record: 73-78
Last Power Ranking: 22

Top award candidate: Elly De La Cruz, NL MVP

While Hunter Greene will receive down-ballot Cy Young votes, we’ll go with the guy who’s been healthy. De La Cruz has leveled up across the board in his first full MLB season. He leads the majors with 64 steals, is slashing .257/.342./.469 (120 OPS+) and has contributed 14 outs above average at shortstop. De La Cruz is crushing fastballs, walking more and chasing less than last season. He has 24 homers, and with his astounding raw power he could turn more barrels into homers in future years. His clear flaw is his strikeout rate, which still sits at 31 percent. If that comes down, watch out, Ohtani. — Nesbitt

Record: 72-78
Last Power Ranking: 20

Top award candidate: Tyler Fitzgerald, NL Rookie of the Year

Fitzgerald won’t pull this off when his competition is Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio, all of whom deserve to win. But in a season that’s not as saturated with future stars, he’d have a chance. A recent back injury scuttled his chances at a 20-20 season, which is impressive for a player who didn’t become a lineup regular until the middle of June.

The Giants have other award-adjacent types, like Patrick Bailey (Gold Glove candidate) and Ryan Walker (Trevor Hoffman Award candidate), but in a normal season, Fitzgerald would be getting a lot more attention for the Rookie of the Year. If the Giants didn’t have him, goodness, they would be lousy. More so. — Brisbee

Record: 72-78
Last Power Ranking: 23

Top award candidate: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., AL Silver Slugger

This is not damning with faint praise. This is progress! After two quieter seasons at the plate, Guerrero returned as a force in 2024. Too bad it wasn’t in service of a postseason chase. At least Guerrero has set himself up for a massive payday. That could come in the form of an extension with the Blue Jays, who are committed to attempting to contend again next season with this year’s core. Or, if Guerrero wants to test the market, it could come in free agency after 2025. He is still so young that he would hit the market while entering his age-27 season. No free-agent first baseman has inked a deal worth $200 million since Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder heading into 2012. Guerrero could change that. — McCullough

Record: 71-79
Last Power Ranking: 21

Top award candidate: Bruce Bochy, AL Manager of the Year

Why not just vote for the most respected manager, regardless of their team’s record? Surely the folks who created this award never thought it would become “Manager of the team that did way better than expected” every stinking year. Where’s the love for the managers who are simply doing their jobs better than others?

So start a revolution. I don’t know if the Rangers would be 61-89 without Bochy, or if they’d be three games up in the wild-card chase without him. All I know is how his players and ex-players talk about him, and it seems like this award would be a fine way to honor him or any of the other widely respected managers around either league. The last time he won a MOY award, he was 40, almost as old as two of his players at the time, Rickey Henderson and Fernando Valenzuela.

All Bochy has done since is build an unbeatable Hall of Fame career. Seems like managers like that should get more awards, not be tied with Tony Peña, Gabe Kapler, Kirk Gibson and Matt Williams, who combined to manage 17 seasons. That is, 10 fewer seasons than Bochy alone. — Brisbee

Record: 71-78
Last Power Ranking: 24

Top award candidate: Paul Skenes, NL Rookie of the Year

Skenes entered his start Monday with a 2.10 ERA over 120 innings as a starter. Here are the last five rookies to do that.

1986 Mark Eichhorn: 1.72 ERA in 157 innings
1980 Doug Corbett: 1.98 ERA in 136 1/3 inning
1973 Steve Rogers: 1.54 ERA in 134 innings
1968 Stan Bahnsen: 2.05 ERA in 267 1/3 innings
1968 Jerry Koosman: 2.08 ERA in 263 2/3 innings

That’s the whole list going back to the Year of the Pitcher, 1968. Corbett and Rogers pitched entirely in relief. Bahnsen was the only one of the group to win Rookie of the Year. Skenes is in toss-up territory. He was the story of the Midsummer Classic and has dominated hitters. But Mr. Clutch Jackson Merrill has had an everyday impact in getting his team to the playoffs. The Pirates have only had one Rookie of the Year winner: Jason Bay in 2004. — Nesbitt

Record: 68-81
Last Power Ranking: 25

Top award candidate: James Wood, NL Rookie of the Year

It’s tough to be a National League rookie in 2024, a season blessed with the debuts of Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio. That trio has overshadowed Wood — and, with his 6-foot-7 frame, Wood rarely gets overshadowed. He has held his own since the Nationals called him up on July 1. His size will always leave him prone to strikeouts. But he has the potential to be a star for a franchise that could use some. — McCullough

Record: 65-85
Last Power Ranking: 26

Top award candidate: Brent Rooker, AL MVP

The former first-round pick is just a couple years removed from wondering if his career was almost over. In April 2022, Rooker was a throw-in to the deal that sent Taylor Rogers to the Padres. A couple months later, the Padres traded him to the Royals for a backup catcher who never reached the majors with them. Two months after that, the Royals waived Rooker. He had just turned 28, he had a .668 OPS in the majors, and the marketplace was suggesting his value was somewhere between a fringey backup catcher and a waiver claim. That’s right about when some start thinking about law school or opening a sandwich shop.

Instead, Rooker will finish in the top 10 in the AL MVP voting, and it’s hard not to get sentimental about stories like his. Although I’m really in the mood for a sandwich right now, so I’m wondering what his shop would have offered.  — Brisbee

Record: 60-90
Last Power Ranking: 27

Top award candidate: Zach Neto, AL MVP (10th place)

The order I write these capsules is determined by the alphabetical order of the team name. That’s how they show up in the document every week, which means I typically have to think about the Angels first. This one feels like an OSHA violation.

This was the category that broke me. You look for a player on their team who can win an award, even a simple Gold Glove. You can’t.

This will be the first season the Angels haven’t had a top-five MVP finisher since 2011, which is wild. So while we can’t pretend that Neto deserves a top-five finish for the AL MVP, he’s got a shot at a single 10th-place vote, at least. He’s currently 23rd in the AL in WAR among position players, according to FanGraphs, but he’s a win-and-a-half away from 10th place. Fudge a little and give him extra credit for being one of the brightest lights in a dark situation. The Angels can get a single 10th-place MVP vote, as a treat, to wean them off the award endorphins that are long gone. — Brisbee

Record: 57-93
Last Power Ranking: 29

Top award candidate: Brenton Doyle, NL Platinum Glove

Any Tom, Dick and Harry can win a Gold Glove. And they have. (Tom Pagnozzi, Corey Dickerson and Harold Reynolds, to be specific.) But it takes a true fielding freak to win a Platinum Glove, and Doyle certainly qualifies. Coors Field has a monstrous, punishing outfield, and the Rockies will always need one of the best defensive center fielders in the game. They have one in Doyle. Now he’s hitting well, too, which seems unfair. There go those Rockies again, catching all the breaks.

This would be the 15th Platinum Glove in the award’s history. If Doyle wins, this would be the breakdown by team:

• Cardinals (6)
• Rockies (6)
• Cubs (1)
• Braves (1)
• Padres (1)

If Nolan Arenado wasn’t traded, the Rockies might have more than three-quarters of the Platinum Glove awards. Wild. — Brisbee

Record: 55-95
Last Power Ranking: 28

Top award candidate: Skip Schumaker, Manager of the Year (in 2025)

Schumaker will become the darling of the free-agent managerial market when the season ends. The move was telegraphed months ago when Miami eliminated his option year for 2025 after Peter Bendix replaced Kim Ng as the head of baseball operations. Schumaker won Manager of the Year after the Marlins snuck into the postseason last season. There was far less good fortune in 2024. Miami was a wreck from Opening Day onward, and the rebuilding figures to take a while. Schumaker is expected to take over in a different dugout next spring — and he’s likely to benefit from Craig Counsell’s financial windfall with the Cubs. — McCullough

Record: 36-115
Last Power Ranking: 30

Top award candidate: Jerry Reinsdorf, Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award

The Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award has been given out to 15 individuals. Cal Ripken Jr. for his Iron Man streak. Tony Gwynn for his batting titles. Mariano Rivera for his saves record. Most recently, Shohei Ohtani for making two-way history. Only one team has received the commissioner’s award: the 2001 Mariners for tying the 1906 Cubs’ wins record of 116.

If winning the most games makes you worthy of the award, losing the most should, too. I humbly nominate Reinsdorf and his 2024 White Sox to be the second club honored. Outdoing the 1962 Mets’ loss record of 120 would be nothing short of historic. — Nesbitt

(Top photo of Mookie Betts: Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Before Sidney Crosby’s first home opener at Pittsburgh’s now-extinct Mellon Arena in October 2005, Mario Lemieux walked past a media scrum encircling Crosby and into the players’ lounge, pouring a cup of black coffee.

Smirking, he opined about soon being “forgotten.” Then, in an unusually earnest moment, Lemieux predicted Crosby would “own all my records one day,” nodded his head and walked out.

Lemieux might have undersold it. Crosby will have an opportunity to break Lemieux’s Penguins records, but also NHL records by Wayne Gretzky (most consecutive seasons averaging at least a point per game) and Steve Yzerman (most consecutive seasons as a team captain).

“(Lemieux) really said that?” Crosby said on Monday afternoon, after speaking with Pittsburgh media following his annual delivery of season tickets to an unsuspecting family in Mars, Pa. “Like, really?

“Uh, there’s still a long way to go.”

Not too long. Crosby needs 99 goals, 30 assists, and 128 points to knock Lemieux from the Penguins’ perch in those regular-season categories. He long ago set the franchise marks for postseason assists (130) and points (201), and needs only six postseason goals to do one better than Lemieux’s 76.

Still, after Crosby signed a new, two-year contract with an $8.7 million average annual value with the Penguins on Monday, he’ll get at least three more cracks at a bargain rate to notch more accomplishments.

Whether he drags the Penguins along for the ride — and back into a position of prominence — or becomes the only reason to care about a proud-turned-fledgling franchise could determine if Crosby does what Lemiex did in Pittsburgh: stay until the end of his career.

Crosby has said he wants to play only for the Penguins. He also wants to chase another Stanley Cup championship.

The Penguins have not qualified for the last two playoffs and will again enter a season with one of the NHL’s oldest rosters. Since Kyle Dubas traded for star defenseman Erik Karlsson last August, the Penguins’ front-office boss’s most intriguing acquisitions have been a handful of prospects.

Once a rite of passage for Crosby’s Penguins, a postseason appearance is hardly guaranteed before his new contract expires. Intriguingly, that contract is structured so he can leverage an exit before its final season if Dubas doesn’t quickly return the Penguins to contender status.

Crosby’s contract is designated 35-plus, a notable status per the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and its Players Association. The contract includes two signing bonuses — a choice, essentially, by Crosby and agent Pat Brisson to get the bulk of the actual money paid before Crosby plays the final season of the new deal.

Crosby will earn $780,000 and $1.09 million in salary respectively in Years 1 and 2 of the new contract. But he will have been paid $16.31 million in real money before playing a game in Year 2.

Who cares how Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group pays Crosby so long as it pays him, right?

Every other GM in the league will care.

With 93.7 percent of Crosby’s salary paid before Year 2 of the new contract, he would come cheap — again, in terms of actual money — in any potential trade during the 2026 offseason. By paying the supermajority of Crosby’s real money before that second contract season, the Penguins could justifiably demand a more favorable return in any potential trade, especially if, as would be likely, they took on a sizeable chunk of Crosby’s cap hit.

It would be just a one-season hit if Dubas retained even 50 percent ($4.35 million) to maximize the return in a trade that would end — albeit probably only temporarily — one of the NHL’s great love stories.

Crosby didn’t sign this new contract to not see it through. He’s said repeatedly, publicly and privately, that he wants to play only for the Penguins.

He also said he wants to win. He reiterated that point a few hours after the Penguins announced his new contract on Monday.

“I had some conversations with Kyle throughout the process,” Crosby said of the negotiations. “I think that was reassuring — just based on what we discussed as far as there’s still hunger from the organization and ownership to win and a commitment there.

“I think that’s really important. I feel like as players, for all the different guys that have played here over the course of the time that I’ve been here, it’s something that you build as a culture… something’s that’s ingrained. And missing the playoffs for a couple of years, not being in it, is difficult.

“You want to try to find every way possible to get back in there and make sure that we compete for the Stanley Cup. So, I think that was reassuring to hear and that helped. But no, I think it was more just hearing that reassurance.”

After next season, Crosby will be approaching his 39th birthday, and Dubas will have had three full years to set a course. His franchise icon should be able to look at the roster and assess whether it’s a Cup contender. By then, Crosby’s view of the situation in Pittsburgh could depend as much on his opinion of the roster as it could on whether he wants to continue without Evgeni Malkin (likely to retire) and possibly Kris Letang, whose final two contractual seasons are not as trade-prohibitive.

Crosby reiterated Monday how special it’s been to play 18 seasons with Malkin and Letang as teammates. The Penguins’ Big Three isn’t going past 20 seasons, if only because of Malkin’s contract.

If, after next season, one or both of his dear friends have moved on and the Penguins aren’t closer to winning their first playoff series since 2018, who would begrudge Crosby for wanting what could be his final NHL season to be a shot at the Cup somewhere else?

The onus is on Dubas to make Crosby’s decision easy by then. By keeping his cap hit as is, Crosby provided Dubas precious millions to upgrade the Penguins next offseason and the one after it. If the Penguins are on the upswing after 2025-26, who better than Crosby to show their next potentially great team how to win?

That would be a picture-perfect swan song for Crosby — with the Penguins in the playoffs, one last run before No. 87 is done.

Then, he can take however much time away he wants, start a family and return to the franchise in whatever off-ice capacity he chooses. He doesn’t need to become an owner, as Lemieux did, but he might.

Crosby’s heart is with the Penguins. He made that clear on Monday.

“It’s probably difficult to put that … into a sound bite,” he said, speaking from the back porch of a suburban Pittsburgh home where he playfully traded high-fives with children wearing various versions of his No. 87 Penguins jersey. “Support (from) the people, the fans, the organization, just everything over the years — it’s been really special, and we’ve had some incredible experiences and memories.

“I just want to continue that.”

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Jeanine Leech and Brandon Sloter / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)

LANDOVER, Md. — The disaster was so predictable that any seasoned New York Giants observer could see it happening in real time.

Washington’s Austin Ekeler broke through a crowd and darted into the open field on Sunday’s opening kickoff of the Giants’ 21-18 loss. The long return forced Giants kicker Graham Gano to give chase, which ended in disaster.

Gano pulled his hamstring as Ekeler blew past him into the end zone. The touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty, but Gano was left writhing in pain on the field.

Losing the kicker on the first play of the game would have merely joined the list of bad breaks to plague the Giants during their interminable run of incompetence if there wasn’t a sense that it could have been avoided. But Gano had been added to the injury report Saturday with a groin injury, and he experienced enough discomfort during pregame warmups that he disrupted his typical routine to retreat to the locker room to get his groin wrapped.

So the Giants had plenty of notice to deploy a contingency plan for their hobbled 37-year-old kicker. The most obvious solution was elevating kicker Jude McAtamney from the practice squad on Saturday to have a ready-made insurance policy.

But even when the Giants elected not to elevate McAtamney, they still could have added a safeguard after Gano’s disjointed warmup routine. Punter Jamie Gillan could have filled in on kickoffs to preserve Gano for field goals and extra points, thus eliminating any chance of chasing any returners for 40 yards.

Because it’s the Giants, those decisions came back to haunt them in the worst way imaginable. Gillan, who had made 1-of-2 field goal attempts in his six-year career, missed the extra point following the Giants’ first touchdown, so coach Brian Daboll elected to attempt 2-point conversions after the team’s final two scores. Daboll also eschewed a 40-yard field goal on fourth-and-4 with just over two minutes remaining in a tie game.

Both 2-point attempts failed, and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers’ lone lowlight from a monster 10-catch, 127-yard, one-touchdown performance came with a drop on the fourth down. The Commanders drove down after Nabers’ drop and kicked the game-winning field goal. In a cruel poetic twist, Austin Seibert, whom Washington signed Tuesday, went 7-for-7 on field goals Sunday.

So in a game decided by three points, the Giants failed on three extra-point attempts because of Gano’s injury, and they bypassed a potential go-ahead field goal because Daboll didn’t trust Gillan.

“We thought Graham would be OK,” Daboll said. “He got hurt chasing down a (runner). It was a hamstring. He didn’t hurt his groin.”

These are the types of catastrophes that lead to a coach getting asked about his future two games into his third season. Daboll was asked if he’s concerned about his job security if the results don’t change.

“I’ve done this for a long time. My focus is on our football team,” Daboll said before directing an extended glare at the reporter who asked the question.

Brian Daboll is asked if he’s concerned about his job status:

“My focus in on our football team” pic.twitter.com/YmxGs7YGqU

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— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 15, 2024

That was Daboll’s lone testy moment in his news conference that he opened by praising his team’s competitiveness, the play of quarterback Daniel Jones and improvements made after a 28-6 loss to the Vikings in Week 1. Daboll clearly had calmed down after slamming his headset to the ground as Seibert’s 30-yard game-winning field goal split the uprights as time expired.

It’s remarkable how quickly things have turned for Daboll. He was named coach of the year 18 months ago after his surprisingly successful debut season. But the Giants are 6-13 since the start of last season and 9-18-1 since the midpoint of Daboll’s first season.

Whatever touch he had during his first season has disappeared. Instead, there have been too many missteps, with personnel blunders like the Gano mismanagement becoming an alarming trend.

Incredibly, the Giants have put themselves in this situation before with Gano. The kicker was dealing with a left knee injury early last season, but he continued to kick until he missed two field goals in a 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets in Week 8. Gano was shut down after that game and underwent season-ending knee surgery.

There was a similar snafu last week with returner Gunner Olszewski, who suffered a groin injury in practice before the second preseason game. Olszewski was limited in practice leading into Week 1 but was deemed ready to play. He then reinjured his groin in pregame warmups and will miss at least four weeks after being placed on injured reserve on Saturday.

The Giants didn’t have an experienced returner on hand despite Olszewski dealing with the groin injury for three weeks, so wide receiver Darius Slayton was pressed into punt return duty. Slayton failed to cleanly field his first return and then fumbled the ball, but it was recovered by a teammate.

What’s so troubling about these mistakes is that they’re almost entirely in the hands of Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. They’re not the same as allowing the Commanders, led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, to convert 50 percent of their third downs or to rush for 215 yards. Those are disappointing results, but there’s a variety of factors involved.

But setting the game day lineup is something every fantasy football owner can manage. And it wasn’t a complicated puzzle to assemble to have McAtamney active, either.

The Giants used their two practice squad elevations on linebackers Ty Summers and Tomon Fox. That duo didn’t play a defensive snap but was on the field for every kickoff, kickoff return and punt return. Could the Giants have used other players already on the active roster for those 13 plays? Sure, but even that wasn’t necessary.

The Giants had only 52 players on their 53-man roster after placing Olszewski on IR on Saturday. So they could have signed Summers to the 53-man roster and used an elevation on McAtamney, an undrafted rookie signed out of Rutgers.

The Giants then would have needed to make one more player inactive. They likely would have survived without their No. 5 defensive tackle Jordon Riley playing a handful of snaps, especially at the expense of not having a backup plan for Gano.

“All the decisions that are made are mine,” Daboll said, before later adding that roster decisions are a collective process with Schoen.

“I can’t tell you that he’s going to get hurt chasing a 100-yard kickoff return that was called back”

Brian Daboll with more on the Graham Gano situation: pic.twitter.com/7ZEqqkueJz

— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 15, 2024

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These types of miscues are emblematic of an overall sloppy operation. The benefit of the doubt from this regime’s unexpected Year 1 success has faded. Now Daboll needs to figure out how to pull the team out of this spiral.

The first two games of the season were supposed to be the easy part of the schedule. No matter how bleak things have gotten for the Giants during this wretched decade-long stretch, they had at least been able to count on beating Washington. With even that off the table, it’s hard to see where wins will come from.

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Daboll is tasked with finding that answer. Games like Sunday erode the faith in his ability to do so.

(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)