Crosby isn’t slowing down
When Sidney Crosby was 18 he didn’t believe age should be an impediment to success, and 12 years later he believes that even more.
“I didn’t let age affect anything when I was 18, and I think I won’t let it affect anything at 30,” Crosby said.
Crosby has won three Stanley Cups, back-to-back Conn
Smythes, a Hart Trophy, two Art Ross trophies, two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup. He has also led the league in goals twice.
The Penguins captain turned 30 on Aug. 7 and didn’t view it as any type of milestone.
“I feel good,” he said. “I take care of myself. Obviously, you aren’t going to get any faster at 30, or least there’s only a small chance of that happening.”
He chuckles. “But I’m still trying to get faster, and whether that happens or not, we will just have to see.”
It wouldn’t surprise Jim Ruth- erford, who has often admitted how impressed he has been with Crosby’s work ethic since joining the team as general manager in June 2014.
“He gets better and better as each year goes by,” Rutherford said. “He’s a determined athlete who has prepared his body for the long haul. He’s not like most guys who turn 30. He is prepared to play at a high level for a long time.”
In 782 regular-season games, Crosby has 382 goals and 1,027 points.
While helping Canada win the World Cup and the Penguins win back-to-back titles, Crosby has played 209 games the last two sea- sons. This summer he took off a month from skating instead of the usual two or three weeks.
Crosby says he constantly works on skating because you get left behind in the modern game if you can’t skate at a rapid pace. Even if he can’t will himself faster, Crosby said, “you can use your experience or the things you’ve learned” to ensure you play at a high tempo.
The decision to take a month off was influenced by the fact he had been training intensely since the previous August because of the World Cup. He had stepped up his training in the summer of 2016 to make sure he was ready to play high-level games in September.
“I like to have time to train and time to relax and I try to balance it all out,” he said.
Turning 30 hasn’t historically meant the end of individual trophy winning for NHL stars.
Current Penguins owner Mario Lemieux won the last of his six scoring championships at 31 and might have won others had he not retired for the first time after winning the title.
NHL all-time scoring leader Wayne Gretzky won one of his 10 scoring championships the year he turned 30 and captured his last scoring crown at age 33 when he registered 130 points for the Los Angeles Kings. When he was 36 and 37, he registered 90 and 97 points, respectively.
Gordie Howe was 34 when he won his sixth and last scoring title in 1963, and he scored 44 goals and registered a career-high 103 points during the season he turned 40.
Still, only seven of the top 25 in last season’s point race were 30 or older.
“I don’t think (Crosby) has ever changed from the time he started playing hockey,” Rutherford said. “He is determined. He’s focused. He’s having fun. And now he has all of this experience under his belt. What a legacy he has built.”