Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby is the current captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is considered one of the top 100 NHL players of all time.

## The Bylsma Era

### The 2013 Post-lockout Shortened Season

In 2013, Sidney Crosby went on an absolutely dominating run where he scored 56 points in 36 games. His points per game was a truly staggering 1.56. Because it was a shortened season on account of the lockout, it's difficult to estimate if Sid could have sustained the same pace for a full 82-game season, but as it was, no one was even close to touching him. If he’d played the full 48 games that year, he’d have 75 points. Martin St. Louis won the Art Ross with 60. Sid only played 36 games, however. This was because of the Brooks Orpik slap shot that broke his jaw. Sid missed the rest of the season. It's possible that this is also why he didn't win the Hart trophy that year. He was nominated, but it went to Alex Ovechkin. (crovi)

Sid didn't return to the ice until the second game of the playoffs. Ironically, the Penguins were matched up against the New York Islander, the team they had been playing when Sid broke his jaw. Sid picked up right where he left off. He had nine points in five games against the Islanders, and six points in five games against Ottawa. When the Penguins reached the Eastern Conference final against the Boston Bruins, the offence dried up, however. Sid didn’t have a single point in that series, and ultimately the Penguins only put up a collective two goals before they were swept in four games.

### 2013-2014 Season

Much was said about the Penguins being swept by the Bruins, and the lack of offence from the Penguins' super stars, particularly Sid. But as the 2013-2014 season came around, it was clear that Sid was back to producing, and he was a constant on a team that saw a slew of injuries. He had an ever-revolving door of teammates and line mates that season, but Sid continued to put up numbers. He would finish the season with 104 points in 80 games for a 1.30 PPG.

In February, the NHL went on a break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics where Canada won gold. Sid, who received criticism for not producing enough points throughout the tournament, scored in the gold-medal game.

The Penguins met Columbus for round one of the playoffs that year. Sid averaged a point per game that series, but he wasn't scoring. The media started talking about how he hadn't scored a playoff goal in 13 games, dating all the way back to the Bruins series in 2013. Sid kept insisting that he wasn't playing hurt, but he had a busted wrist from a game against the St. Louis blues back in March, where his wrist got caught awkwardly between his body and the boards after a Ryan Reaves hit. The injury meant that he had trouble putting any power behind his shots, which was why he was having trouble scoring goals. He was still dominating possession, though. Sid also took a large amount of abuse that playoffs from the likes of Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal. Even Henrik Lundqvist got into it, and squirting water at him during a scrum.

To make matters worse, Sid's relationship with Coach Dan Bylsma was rapidly deteriorating. According to rumours at the time, Byslma had instructed his players not to retaliate when Sid got hit by Dubinky et al. He had threatened to bench any player that came to Sid's aid or got involved in scrums after the whistle. Only Chris Kunitz, who was Sid's line mate, and Geno, seemed to have his back. During the second round of the playoffs, against the New York Rangers, it became especially apparent that Sid was upset with Bylsma. Tensions were heightened by the fact that the Penguins had led the series 3-1 before ultimately losing in Game 7.

## The Mike Johnston Dark Times

Mike Johnston's tenure in Pittsburgh coincided with the worst stretch of Sid's career. He'd never, during all his years in the League, played as poorly as he did under Mike Johnston. In 2012-13, Sid went from a 1.56 PPG to 1.30 in 2013-14. This was a pretty steep dive, but he was still dominating his peers (Ryan Getzlaf was the closest to him in points that year. He had 87 points. Sid had 104.). From 2013-14 to 2014-15, Sid’s PPG dipped again. This time it reached an all-time low of 1.09 PPG. He’d never been below 1.26 before. Not so incidentally, the Penguins as a team went from 242 goals total to 217, and their winning percentage dipped from .665 to .598, the lowest it had been since the 2005-2006 season. This all coincided with Mike Johnston becoming coach. The Penguins just barely edged their way into the playoffs that season. They made it with literally the last game of the season, against Buffalo, which was ranked dead last at 30 that year.

The Penguins were eliminated in five games by the Ranger during the first round of the playoffs that year.

Sid called up the GM of Team Canada the same night they were eliminated; he was healthy and he wanted to play in the World Championship. Sid, who was made captain, had a good tournament, and won gold against Russia and Geno on 17 May 2017. He became the 26th member of the Triple Gold Clup (winner of a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold, and a World Championship gold), and the only player in history to do so while captaining each of his teams.

Even coming off a World Championship, that summer Sid experienced something of a personal crisis. He was turning 28 and had a freak out about it. (quarter life crisis!)

## Captaincy

During his first season, Crosby was given an "A" as an alternate captain on Fri 16 Dec. 2005, but already at the end of the season, then-Penguins coach Michel Therrien asked Crosby to think about accepting the captaincy for the next season. Had he accepted then, Crosby would still hold the record for youngest NHL captain in history at 19 years and 59 days old. As it was, he declined. He was asked to take the "C" again during the All Star break, midway through the season, but wouldn't accept it until the next season again, having then won a scoring title and feeling as if he had earned the captaincy. On May 31 2007, after the Penguins had been eliminated from the playoffs, Crosby finally accepted the "C" at 19 years 9 months and 24 days old. He was, at that point, the youngest NHL captain in history before Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche broke the record, followed by Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, who now holds the record at 19 years and 266 days. Crosby remains the youngest captain ever to have won a Stanley Cup, however, at 21 years 10 months and 5 days old. Crosby is also the only person in history to have won an Olympic gold medal, a Stanley Cup, a World Championship, and the World Cup of Hockey as captain of his team.

### Taking Responsibility

For years, the ice at PPG Paints Arena (formerly Consol) had a reputation for being particularly bad and in poor condition. Recently, however, the ice in Pittsburgh has better conditions than most of the League. The change came about with the Penguins players complaining the poor quality until it got to the point where Crosby would "go every day and constructively sit down with the guys who ran the rink and tell them exactly what he felt was wrong with it." Crosby has a good dialogue going between them, and eventually the ice started to get better and better. Consequently, the ice at PPG Paints Arena is considered to be consistently good now.

## Friends and Teammates

### Nickname(s)

Sid, Sid the kid, Creature, Darryl, Snidney Krispy, The Beef

### Playing career

2005 - present (Crosby has technically missed two full seasons to injuries)

### Notable Relationships

#### Sid and Geno

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (crosno, sidno, gensby, etc etc) are much closer than people generally realise. (gay rights!) After their second Cup win, Malkin posted a picture to Instagram where Crosby and Malkin were posing with the Stanley Cup between them. Malkin's caption said: Best friends.

##### Quotes

* Quotes about Sid and Geno, plus Geno talking about Sid and Sid talking about Geno. #yasss

#### Sid and Army

Colby Armstrong (nicknamed Army) was one of Crosby's closest friends on the team when he was traded from the Penguins to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2008. The two became roommates midway through Crosby's first season in the NHL (2005-2006), an arrangement that lasted up until Armstrong's departure. They used to pass the time on the road by making trick shots of empty water bottles into hotel-room garbage cans. According to Crosby, Armstrong was a good roommate, though he was one of the worst snorers he's ever heard. Soon after Armstrong had been traded, he returned to Pittsburgh ahead of his new team and found Crosby waiting for him at the airport instead of his now-wife, Melissa. They spent the evening hanging out, and then Crosby drove Armstrong to the rink in the morning.

#### Sid and Talbo

Max Talbot (nicknamed Talbo) first met Crosby when Talbot was 16 and Crosby was 13, at a summer camp put on by their shared agent, Pat Brisson. Even then, Crosby was impossibly talented and equally composed, but used to the attention and the expectations, according to Talbot. Sometimes Talbot visited Crosby during the offseason in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, where they at one point filmed a couple of commercials for Rebook.

#### **Sid and Ovi**

guys idk about you but they definitely AT LEAST kissed. crovi ftw babyyyy!! #ALLCAPS #gopens #snidney #alexovechkin #yasss #slayyyy

## Superstitions

### Scoring drought

Crosby, who is a notoriously superstitious person on any given day, will usually try to switch up his routines to try and break his slumps when he hasn't been scoring goals or points for longer stretches of time than is usual for him (the longest goal drought of his career is 11 games). One of the most common switch-ups in recent years has been foregoing using a helmet during warmups before games, with mixed results. He also likes to wear different shoes when he is not scoring, preferring Demonias.

## International Competition

### Winter Olympics

#### 1910 Vancouver

##### Sidney Crosby, the Pied Piper of Canada

During the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the Canadian team could choose between living in hotels or the "college dorm-like Olympic Village". Ken Hitchcock, then an assistant coach to Mike Babcock, credits Crosby with bringing the team to the dorms, stating that Crosby's decision to move permanently into the Village convinced all of his teammates to do the same. According to Hitchcock:

"It was 8 o'clock in the morning and we (the coaches) are going for breakfast and he's coming back with the whole crew. It's just like the Pied Piper, everybody is following him back into the Village...He was coming back with suitcases and there were about 10 guys following him."

Hitchcock said that not only did the coaches appreciate it, but the move made a huge difference and made the team really come together.

"Everybody was having fun together. You talk about building chemistry, the chemistry became instant. Everybody started hanging out on the (Village dormitory's) 12th floor and having fun together."

Canada, the team that would go on to win 1st place, was at the elimination brink at that point; they had to win their next game in order to advance in the tournament.

#### 2014 Sochi

##### Ping-pong hustlers Sidney Crosby and Shea Weber

During the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Crosby and Shea Weber [who?] reportedly hustled the Canadian curling team at the ping-pong table.

When they approached a group of guys playing, they were asked if they wanted to join.

One of the curlers asked if they were any good, to which Crosby replied, "No, not really." Crosby and Weber would go on to "throttle the competition" before introducing themselves to the group. They handily won five games in a row, with curler Ryan Harnden saying Crosby and Weber were a lot better than they let on, and Ryan Fry adding that, "Sid's backhand is as good in ping-pong as it is in hockey and Weber’s serve is like his slapshot. It’s hard."

Crosby, of course, is well known for his competitive nature, and it's suspected that he also hustled his teammates during a game of beer pong at the Penguins 2016 Halloween party. He was dressed as a rat.

## Injuries

### Concussions

#### 2016 Concussion

Crosby missed the Penguins' first 6 games of the season with a concussion he suffered during a pre-season practice on Friday 7 October 2016. The exact cause of the concussion is undetermined as neither Crosby nor the Penguins will admit to exactly what happened, and the media that was present during the practice report they were unable to single out any particular events that could have led to the injury. It was just Crosby's second practice with the Penguins since returning from the World Cup of Hockey.

Crosby woke up on Saturday 8 October with a headache and did not suit up for the Penguins' final pre-season game as he'd been expected to. The next day, he participated in the Penguins' first annual Fan Fest, but did not participate in practice Monday 10 October, at which point he underwent testing and was diagnosed with the concussion.

There was given no timetable for his return, but Crosby was considered day-to-day since the diagnosis, and was kept out of full practices for nearly two weeks, though he did feel well enough to skate by himself. On Monday 24 October, Crosby was cleared for full-contact practice, and played his first game of the season vs the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Tuesday 25 October. Crosby scored a goal in his return and sparked the Penguins' comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win the game 3-2.

At that point, Crosby had gone 4-5 days without symptoms. He does not appear to have any lingering issues.

Considering Crosby's history with his previous concussion and how it was handled, the Penguins and Crosby appear to have been more cautious this time around.

### Broken Jaw

On Saturday 30 March 2013 during a game vs the Islanders at Consol, Crosby broke his jaw after taking a puck to the face from a slap shot from then-teammate and defenseman Brooks Orpik. It was Crosby's first shift of the game, and he lost six or seven teeth in the ordeal. He was sidelined one month with the injury before returning for the playoffs, then with his jaw held together by a titanium plate (he would go on to have more off-season surgeries).

#### Mozzarella Stick Incident

While at a local restaurant in Pittsburgh, Crosby attempted to eat a mozzarella stick with his broken jaw (and smashed teeth) and started choking. He had to "reach into his throat and pry out the hot rubbery cheese to keep from choking on it."

## Miscellaneous

### Primers

* An Essay on Sidney Crosby, Mike Johnston, and the Dark Times.

### Fan Stories and Unconfirmed Reports

* Sidney Crosby Snapchat
* Crosby the beer pong hustler
* Ken Hitchcock once implied that Crosby pranked him before the 2010 Olympics ring ceremony. Something to do with Hitchcock's shoes.
* He has been to Pittsburgh (TRUE!!)
* Sidney Crosby's favourite princess is a little girl

### Fun Facts

* Has a Garth Brooks-signed guitar that he has in his basement, but the strings are rusted, it's never tuned, and he "rarely plays it."
* His favorite book is the Aeneid

In a Q&A with the NHLPA on 7 December 2016, Sidney revealed a few interesting facts about himself.

* His number one pet peeve is to see tape on the floor of the locker room.
* If he could only eat one thing for the rest of his life it would be pizza.
* He's a fan of Game of Thrones and Viking.
* He listens to Taylor Swift.
* His favourite sport other than hockey is American Football.
* If he could go anywhere in the world, it would be to Russia with Evgeni Malkin.
* He likes to design shirts in his free time.
* He puts his milk before his cereal.

### Nicknames

While most often referred to as Sid the Kid by the media, Crosby has garnered a few nicknames over the years.

* **Creature:** A reference to Crosby's sizeable behind and muscled legs/thighs.
* **Darryl:** A reference to NHL player Darryl Sittler who, in 1979, got 10 points in a single game. After managing 8 points in a single game in juniors, Crosby was nicknamed Darryl by some of his teammates.
* **The Next One:** A reference to Wayne Gretzky, who is known as the Great One. Sidney Crosby, before even reaching the NHL, was believed to be the future best player in the world. He has since proven this to be true.
* **Snidney Krispy**: He is very crispy!

### Off-Ice Life

* Sidney takes college courses
* Sidney drives around Pittsburgh in a golf cart

### Quotes About Sid

A collection of things that have been said about Crosby over the years.

### Routines and Superstitions

Sidney Crosby is notorious for his long list of routines and superstitions. Asked once who the most superstitious guy in the league was, Joe Vitale reported that it was, without a doubt, Sidney Crosby.

* The time Sid didn't wear his helmet for warm-ups

## NHL All Star Games

Crosby has been invited to the NHL All Star Games eight times, but have missed all but three (2007, 2017, 2018) due to injury. Crosby has garnered criticism for failing to take part in the event. The concept of Crosby coming up with reasons to avoid the All Star Games have become something of a running joke. Crosby's ASG appearance is as follows:

**2006** - Olympics, no ASG

**2007** - Attended

**2008** - Ankle sprain

**2009** - Injury, unknown, but did show up at the festivities.

**2010** - Olympics, no ASG

**2011** - Concussion

**2012** - Not selected because of his concussion issues.

**2013** - Lockout, no ASG

**2014**, Olympics, no ASG

**2015** - Pulled out because of injury, likely his wrist.

**2016** - Not selected due to his slow start in terms of point production.

**2017** - Attended

**2018** - Attended

**2019** - Attended

## References

1. ↑ https://www.nhl.com/news/100-greatest-nhl-players-of-all-time/c-286030052
2. ↑ Please note that this is a rumour and is unconfirmed.
3. ↑ https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/crosby-named-alternate-captain/c-494331
4. ↑ http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/\_/id/18636647/nhl-pittsburgh-penguins-center-sidney-crosby-nears-1000-point-milestone-special-memories-teammates-resonate-more-stats
5. ↑ http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/youngest-captain-of-a-stanley-cup-winning-team
6. ↑ http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/\_/id/18725872/nhl-players-too-happy-days-quality-ice-league-big-question
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/bobgrove91/status/788142295040323584
8. ↑ http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/\_/id/18636647/nhl-pittsburgh-penguins-center-sidney-crosby-nears-1000-point-milestone-special-memories-teammates-resonate-more-stats
9. ↑ http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/\_/id/18636647/nhl-pittsburgh-penguins-center-sidney-crosby-nears-1000-point-milestone-special-memories-teammates-resonate-more-stats
10. ↑ https://www.nhl.com/news/as-leader-hitchcock-sees-sid-in-class-of-his-own/c-602882
11. ↑ http://pdsochi.wpengine.com/news/meet-sidney-crosby-and-shea-weber-ping-pong-hustlers
12. ↑ https://www.nhl.com/news/penguins-sidney-crosby-makes-successful-season-debut-against-panthers/c-283095864
13. ↑ http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/johnston-crosby-performing-despite-discomfort/
14. ↑ https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2017/02/05/Sunday-Spotlight-Penguins-have-just-one-guitar-hero-in-locker-room/stories/201702050062
15. ↑ http://www.nhlpa.com/news/player-qa-sidney-crosby
16. ↑ http://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=2180590
17. ↑ https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/on-sidney-crosby--nhl-all-star-game-suspensions-and-bad-vibes-220351008.html
18. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/sidney-crosby-s-regrettable-all-star-game-snub-231214078.html