Crosby’s passion is still pushing him to succeed
Imagine what it would be like to be Sidney Crosby for a day.
For starters, you would get US$23,835 — the daily pay Crosby earns from his 12-year, US$104-million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins that runs through the 2024-25 season with an average annual salary of US$8.7 million to match his No. 87 jersey.
But for Crosby, hockey has never really been about money. There is no other player in the NHL who loves the game more than Crosby, who still has his boyhood passion at age 30.
Crosby has lived in a hockey fishbowl since scoring 159 goals during his third year of novice as a young boy in Nova Scotia. In all the years since then, he has continued to be a role model on and off the ice.
Crosby’s day Saturday started with a 10:30 a.m. morning skate at PPG Paints Arena before facing the Canadiens that night. After the skate, Crosby had to work his way through the media mob waiting in front of his stall in the Penguins’ locker-room before putting on his ball cap and sitting down to answer questions. He answered every one of them for more than 20 minutes.
Sitting a few stalls to Crosby’s left was Kris Letang, who has been Crosby’s teammate for 12 years. Letang also had a lot of media at his stall, but this was a one-off for the defenceman because he’s a Montreal native and visiting French-language reporters wanted to talk to him.
The media mob in front of Crosby’s locker is something Letang is used to watching.
“It’s nothing new for us or for him,” Letang said. “It’s just him … what he’s been able to do and go through. It just tells you how good of a person he is, how dedicated he is to the game and his team. It’s just amazing.”
Crosby’s performance against the Canadiens in the Penguins’ 5-2 win Saturday night might not have been amazing as he only picked up one assist and was even in plus-minus. But Crosby always finds a way to help his team win and on this night that included going 22-2 in the faceoff circle for an incredible 92 per cent success rate.
With Saturday’s victory, the Penguins clinched a playoff spot for the 12th straight season, a franchise record, and Crosby will be looking to hoist the Stanley Cup for the third straight year and the fourth time in his 13-year career.
An NHL scout once told me the difference between Crosby and the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin is that Crosby wins championships and Ovechkin wins individual awards. Apart from the Stanley Cups, Crosby has won gold with Team Canada at the world junior championship, the IIHF World Championship and the Olympics.
Canadiens coach Claude Julien was part of the Team Canada staff at the 2006 world championship in Latvia and Crosby was part of that team after the Penguins missed the playoffs in his rookie season. Canada finished fourth, but the 18-yearold Crosby became the youngest player ever to lead the tournament in scoring.
“Every practice he just stood out … he worked so hard,” Julien recalled. “How he handled himself as a young player, you could see there was determination in him wanting to be the best. And I know with the Olympics and all that stuff, that’s why he wears the C. He’s very serious about his job, he’s serious about leading and he’s serious about everything. He’s a very professional player. What he does on the ice is pretty impressive, but how he prepares and handles himself is just as impressive.”
Nobody knows that better than Letang, who is one of Crosby’s best friends. During the Penguins’ bye week in the schedule in early January, Crosby and Letang travelled together to Mont-Tremblant. Crosby asked Letang if he was going to pack his hockey gear.
“I said: ‘No, I’m taking a break,’ ” Letang said with a smile.
Crosby did pack his gear and spent a morning skating on an outdoor rink with a shocked Guillaume Ouimet, the 19-yearold captain of the junior doubleA Mont-Tremblant Diables, who now has a story he can tell his kids and grandkids one day.
“His generosity, his care factor for his teammates and friends in unbelievable,” Letang said about Crosby. “He always wants to make sure everybody is taken care of. He likes to have everyone around … he’s from a close family and I think he wants to do the same when he’s here in Pittsburgh with his teammates. He wants everybody to be close ... he invites guys over to his house and takes care of all the guys.’’
More than an hour after the Penguins’ morning skate ended Saturday and the Canadiens had also wrapped up their skate, Crosby was still at PPG Paints Arena, standing in a corridor talking with Sportsnet’s Paul Romanuk, Garry Galley and Christine Simpson.
There is nobody who likes playing — and talking — hockey more than Sidney Crosby.