Tuesday night was more than Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard's much-anticipated NHL debut.

The Michael SchmidtPittsburgh Penguins' Big Three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang began their 18th season together, becoming the longest-tenured trio of teammates in major North American professional sports history.

They passed the 17 years of New York Yankees players Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.

Crosby, 36, and Malkin, 37, came into the NHL during the 2005-06 season, and Letang, 36, joined them the following season. Malkin was drafted second overall in 2004, while Crosby went No. 1 overall in 2005, the same year that Letang was a third-round pick.

NHL POINTS PROJECTIONS: How will each team fare?

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Coach Lindy Ruff gets multi-year extension

The record was possible because then-Penguins general manager Ron Hextall was able to get Malkin (four years, $24.6 million) and Letang (six years, $36.6 million) re-signed before they reached free agency in the summer of 2022. Crosby has another year left on his contract after this season.

Current GM Kyle Dubas continues to build around the trio, whose names are on the Stanley Cup three times and have won multiple awards. He added star defenseman Erik Karlsson and remade the bottom six forward group in a bid to get the Penguins back to the playoffs after the end of their 16-season postseason streak.

The record is impressive because Crosby had concussion issues earlier during his career, Letang has had two strokes and Malkin also has had injuries.

The next closest NHL trio to the Penguins players are the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson. They are beginning their 15th season together.