USA TODAY International Edition
Crosby rolling toward 1,000 points
The most impressive aspect of Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby approaching 1,000 career points is that we might not have seen his best work.
Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford said he thinks Crosby, who has 998 points going into Thursday’s game vs. the Colorado Avalanche, is still finding ways to refine his game.
“I don’t know if there is any other athlete in the world who is more prepared to be successful,” Rutherford said. “It started at a young age, and it has never dropped off. And it never will.”
At 29 years, 185 days through Wednesday, Crosby is in position to become the 12th youngest to reach 1,000 points. He also would rank 12th fastest with 753 games entering Thursday’s meeting.
Nobody has done it faster since Jaromir Jagr reached 1,000 points in 2000, not long before Jagr’s 29th birthday.
“( Crosby’s) at a level all by himself right now,” Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland said. “Can he take it to another level? I wouldn’t put it past him.”
New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero, a former Pittsburgh GM, calls Crosby’s dominance Gretzky- like.
“( Wayne) Gretzky, Mario ( Lemieux), Gordie ( Howe) — those are the best ( forwards) ever — we get that,” Shero said. “But what Sid has done, getting 1,000 points as quickly as he has, with the injuries he’s had, and how hard it is to produce points now, he’s been amazing.”
It’s challenging to compare Crosby’s feat to other greats of the game because the majority of players who made it to 1,000 points faster played much of their careers in the 1980s when scoring rates were higher.
With an NHL- leading 30 goals in 46 games, Crosby is on a pace to score 50 goals for the first time since 2009- 10.
With two Olympic golds, two Stanley Cup titles, two Hart Trophies, two Art Ross Trophies and one Rocket Richard Trophy, Crosby has a complete résumé.
“When Pittsburgh won the lottery ( in 2005) to get Crosby,” Shero said, “it really won the lottery.”