Sidney Crosby has no doubt that chasing a third straight Stanley Cup will be an extremely difficult task this season, but that's still the goal for the now 30-year-old centre and his teammates. 

"I have a pretty good understanding of how hard (winning) two (Stanley Cups) is, I don't imagine what three must be like... I'd love to find out," Crosby said Monday after leading Halifax's 122nd Natal Day parade with the Stanley Cup in tow. "It's gonna be tough but we're going into training camp with that in mind so it will be a big challenge, but, you know, why not?"

Playoffs included, Crosby has played in 203 games since October 2015 and 209 including the World Cup of Hockey last September. 

Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs in 2016 and followed that up with a NHL-high 44 goals in 75 games last season. He added eight goals and 19 assists in the postseason as the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first team in the salary cap-era to repeat as champions and he became the first player to repeat as Conn Smythe winner since Mario Lemieux in 1992.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion owns 94 goals and 220 points over those past 203 games - a 1.08 points per game average.

Depth down the middle could be an issue for the Penguins in their quest to three-peat after the team lost third-line centre Nick Bonino to the Nashville Predators in free agency and fourth-line centre Matt Cullen weighs retirement. Pittsburgh did, however, add size with the acquistion of Ryan Reaves and should benefit from the return on Kris Letang, who missed the team's entire playoff run after neck surgery.

No team has won three straight Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders won four from 1980-1983.