Sidney Crosby

**Sidney Crosby** (born Sidney Patrick Crosby on August 7, 1987 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who serves as captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.

## Playing Career

Early in his minor hockey years, Sidney began attracting media attention for his play and gave his first newspaper interview at the age of seven.

When he was 13 years old, Nova Scotia's Minor Hockey Council refused to allow Sidney to play midget, a level of minor hockey designated for 15 to 17-year-olds. His family sued, but lost.

The following year, he entered the midget level with the triple-A Dartmouth Subways and went on to score a combined 217 regular season and playoff points, leading Dartmouth to a second-place finish at the 2002 Air Canada Cup.

Sidney was named the MVP and Top Scorer awards at the national tournament at the tournament banquet held after the preliminary round and he finished the tournament with 24 points (11 goals and 13 assists) in 7 games.

He was called up as a 14-year-old to play two games with the Maritime Junior A Hockey League's Truro Bearcats that season. He had been drafted by the Bearcats in the 2001 MJAHL Draft as a 13-year-old.

During his midget season, Sidney appeared on the CBC's Hockey Day in Canada telecast. He has recalled numerous instances in which opposing players intentionally attempted to injure him, as well as constant verbal abuse from parents on and off the ice.Parents taunted and threatened Sidney so harshly, he took to not wearing his jersey between tournament games while he waited to play so that he would not be recognized.

Due to this treatment, Sidney elected to play for the American hockey program at Shattuck-Saint Mary's Boarding School, Minnesota for the 2002–03 hockey season. In 57 games with the Sabres, he recorded 72 goals and 162 points, leading the team to a U18 AAA national championship.

Sidney was selected first overall in the 2003 Midget Draft by the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In his first exhibition game, he scored eight points, leading his teammates to nickname him "Darryl" (in reference to Darryl Sittler's ten-point NHL game in 1976). In his first regular season game in the QMJHL, he scored one goal and added two assists.

Sidney was named QMJHL Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks at the start of the season and won the honour four more times as the season progressed. He was named QMJHL Player of the Month and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week three times each. He finished his rookie QMJHL season with 54 goals and 81 assists over 59 games to capture the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer.

Sidney was further recognized with the RDS/JVC Trophy (overall rookie of the year) and Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (most valuable player), becoming the first QMJHL player to win all three major awards at once.

Rounding out Sidney's accolades for the 2003–04 regular season were QMJHL All-Rookie and First All-Star Team honours, as well as Offensive Rookie, Offensive Player and Personality of the Year Awards. As a team, the Océanic led the Eastern Division with 34 wins and 76 points.

After receiving a first-round bye in the 2003 QMJHL playoffs, they defeated the Shawinigan Cataractes in the quarterfinals, then were eliminated by the Moncton Wildcats in the semi-finals. He recorded 16 points (7 goals and 9 assists) over 9 playoff games.

During the off-season, the World Hockey Association, a major professional league proposed to rival the NHL, held an Entry Draft on July 17, 2004. Holding the first overall selection, Toronto chose Crosby.

The following month, it was reported that he turned down a US$7.5 million contract over three years to play for Hamilton. He told reporters that while "it took a lot to say no to that much money", he "work[ed] hard most of his life to play in the NHL".

The contract would have paid him $2.5 million annually and an additional $2 million payout regardless of whether the WHA was realized as a legitimate league or not. However, it was not clarified, how Hamilton could have signed Sidney, as Toronto held his WHA playing rights. Nevertheless, the WHA never materialized.

Returning to the Océanic for the 2004–05 season, Sidney continued dominating the league, leading the league with 66 goals, 102 assists and 168 points over 62 games to capture his second consecutive Beliveau Trophy.

Joining Sidney on Rimouski's top line were wingers Dany Roussin and Marc-Antoine Pouliot, who finished second and third in league-scoring with 116 and 114 points respectively.

In addition to his scoring title, Sidney was once again awarded Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player and Personality of the Year, while repeating as a QMJHL First All-Star. The Océanic finished with the regular season with the best record in the league, registering 45 wins and 98 points, including a league record-setting 28-game undefeated streak.

They went on to capture the President's Cup as QMJHL playoff champions, defeating the Halifax Mooseheads in the finals. Sidney led the playoffs with 31 points (14 goals and 17 assists) over 13 games, earning him the Guy Lafleur Trophy as post-season MVP.

With their QMJHL championship, the Océanic qualified for the 2005 Memorial Cup, Canada's national major junior tournament. Meeting the London Knights in the final, the Océanic were shut-out 4–0.

Despite the loss, Sidney was named to the Tournament All-Star Team and captured the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the competition's leading scorer with 11 points (6 goals and 5 assists) over 5 games.

Knights forward Corey Perry was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP. Soon after, he attended the NHL prospect combine in preparation for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Entering the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Sidney was listed first overall in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and International Scouting Services' respective rankings of prospects. He had also won the Mike Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL's best prospect.

Sidney went on to be selected first overall in the draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 30, 2005. Due to the labour lockout that suspended the entire 2004–05 NHL season, positioning for the 2005 draft was conducted via a weighted lottery based on each team's playoff appearances and draft lottery victories in the last four years; this lottery system led to the draft being popularly referred to as the "Sidney Crosby Lottery" or the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes."

"Sid the Kid", a nickname given to him by the media early in his career, made his NHL debut on October 5, 2005, against the New Jersey Devils, and registered an assist on the team's first goal of the season, scored by Mark Recchi in a 5–1 loss. He scored his first NHL goal in the Penguins' home opener on October 8 against goaltender Hannu Toivonen of the Boston Bruins.

Despite having registered two assists for a three-point night, the Penguins were defeated 7–6 in overtime. Sidney began his rookie season playing alongside Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Unfortunately, Lemieux was forced to retire due to an irregular heartbeat after having played just 26 games of the season.

Near the midway point of the season, Penguins head coach Ed Olczyk was fired and replaced by Michel Therrien on December 15, 2005.

The following day, Therrien designated Sidney as an alternate captain for the Penguins. The move drew criticism from some hockey pundits (including Don Cherry, who claimed that Crosby did not have the experience for the position).

Cherry said, *"An 18-year-old kid says he's going to give us ideas. What, from the Quebec League, he's going to give them ideas? Come on. That's ridiculous."*

Although hopes were high in Pittsburgh for the club to succeed, largely in part to the beginning of Sidney's NHL career and bolstered by the acquisitions of Sergei Gonchar, Zigmund Palffy and Mark Recchi, the Penguins still finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Nevertheless, Sidney's first NHL campaign was a personal success as he established franchise records in assists (63) and points (102) for a rookie, both of which had been previously held by Mario Lemieux. He also became the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a single season, and only the seventh rookie ever to hit the benchmark.

Overall, he finished sixth in the NHL scoring race and seventh in the NHL in assists. Among Canadian NHL players, he trailed only Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley.

Throughout the season, Sidney had battled with Washington Capitals forward and 2004 first-overall pick Alex Ovechkin for the rookie scoring lead.

He would finish second to Ovechkin's 106 points and also lose out to the Capitals forward for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. It marked the start of a rivalry that would help "define the league" for over a decade.

Throughout his first season, Sidney was accused by opposing players and coaches of taking dives and complaining to officials, which was typically attributed to his youth. He became the first rookie to earn 100 penalty minutes and 100 points in the same season, which magnified his reputation for complaining to NHL officials.

Hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey compared Sidney to Wayne Gretzky, who had a similar reputation as a "whiner" in his youth, and suggested that as Crosby matured, he would mellow out and his reputation would fade.

In his second NHL season, Sidney built on his rookie success. On October 28, 2006, he scored his first NHL hat-trick in an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

His success against the Flyers continued as just over six weeks later, on December 13, he recorded the first six-point game of his career (one goal and five assists) The multi-point effort vaulted Sidney into the NHL scoring lead, which he would retain for the remainder of the season.

Sidney finished the 2006–07 season with 36 goals and 84 assists in 79 games to become the first teenager to lead the NHL in scoring since Wayne Gretzky in 1980.

Being only 19 years old at the time, he became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Art Ross Trophy and the youngest scoring champion in any major North American professional sport.

Sidney's second NHL season also saw significant improvements for the Penguins franchise as a whole, as the emergence of Calder Trophy-winner Evgeni Malkin and runner-up Jordan Staal complemented the club's offence.

As a result, the Penguins jumped from last place in the Eastern Conference the previous season to fifth for the club's first playoff appearance since 2001. Playing the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, he scored a goal in his Stanley Cup playoff debut in a 6–3 loss.

Sidney finished the series with five points in five games as the Penguins were ousted by the eventual Stanley Cup runner-up. Following the Penguins defeat, Crosby was named Pittsburgh's team captain on May 31, 2007, making him (at 19 years, 9 months, and 24 days) the youngest team captain in NHL history.

During the season, the Penguins had offered Sidney the captaincy, but he had turned it down. In the press conference naming him the team captain, he explained:

*"I just thought it wasn't right for me. As a team, we were playing great and you don't want to disrupt things like that. Individually, I was not ready to accept that responsibility quite yet. Going through the playoffs and having that experience has probably given me more confidence. I understand there is going to be a lot more responsibility on my shoulders with this, but it's something I'm ready for, I feel very comfortable with it and I'm just excited to get things going."*

At the NHL's annual awards show later in June 2007, Sidney completed a rare off-season "hat-trick", winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award in addition to his previously-clinched Art Ross Trophy.

He became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Lester B. Pearson and only the second youngest player ever to win the Hart (after Gretzky). He became the youngest player ever to be named to the NHL's First All-Star Team.

With Sidney's initial three-year, entry-level contract set to expire at the end of the following season, the Penguins signed him to a five-year, $43.5 million contract extension on July 10, 2007, ensuring his stay with the Penguins through the 2012–13 season.

Midway through the subsequent season, he recorded a Gordie Howe hat-trick on December 20, 2007, in a game against the Boston Bruins. His first assist came 55 seconds into the first period.

At 8:26 of the same period, Crosby scored to give the Penguins a 2–0 lead. Then, five minutes and nine seconds into the second frame, Crosby fought ex-Penguin defenceman Andrew Ference to complete the hat-trick; this was Crosby's first NHL fight.

In NHL's first Winter Classic (with a record crowd of 71,217 fans in attendance), Sidney scored the shootout winner in heavy snowfall to defeat the Buffalo Sabres.

However, two weeks later, on January 18, 2008, he suffered a high ankle sprain crashing leg-first into the boards in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. As a result, he missed the 2008 All-Star Game, to which he was named a starter.

After missing 21 games, he returned on March 4 against the Lightning and earned an assist; however, two games after his return, he felt his ankle was not up to shape and decided that he needed more time for it to heal.

Sidney consequently sat out of the Penguins' next seven games and returned on March 27, 2008, to help the Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 3–1. Despite his injury-shortened campaign, Crosby still managed 72 points in just 53 games.

Sidney's absence from the Penguins' line-up served as a stepping stone for teammate Evgeni Malkin (who, now in his second season) was developing into a superstar in his own right. Picking up the offensive slack, Malkin finished second in league scoring to Alex Ovechkin and was also a Hart Memorial Trophy nominee as MVP honours also went to Ovechkin.

In addition to Sidney's return to the line-up late in the regular season, the Penguins acquired star winger Marián Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers at the trade deadline, placing the club in a strong position to make a deep playoff run. Pittsburgh finished the regular season as Atlantic Division champions and just two points shy of the first-seeded Montreal Canadiens.

In a rematch of the previous year's opening round, the Penguins began the 2008 playoffs facing the Ottawa Senators, whom they quickly swept in four games. After then defeating the New York Rangers and archrival Philadelphia Flyers, each in five games, the Penguins reached the final round for the first time since 1992, to face the Detroit Red Wings.

After being shut-out as a team for the first two games of the series, he scored the first two goals of game three as the series shifted to Pittsburgh to fuel a 3–2 win.

The Penguins lost the next game and despite staving off defeat in game five, they were overcome by the Red Wings in six games.

Sidney finished the playoffs with 27 points (6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games), tying Conn Smythe-winner Henrik Zetterberg (13 goals and 14 assists in 22 games) for the playoff scoring lead.

Early in the following season, on October 18, 2008, Sidney scored one goal and three assists to surpass benchmarks of 100 goals, 200 assists, and 300 points for his career. On the play in which he scored, teammate Evgeni Malkin assisted to record his own 200th point. As a result, Sidney had a team trainer cut the puck in half so both players could commemorate the achievement.

Minor injury troubles kept Sidney from five games early in the season as he was listed day-to-day, but he was for the most part, able to bounce back from the previous injury-riddled season and stay healthy. He recorded 33 goals and 70 assists to finish third in league scoring, as Evgeni Malkin captured his first career Art Ross Trophy.

Entering the 2009 playoffs as the defending Prince of Wales Trophy winners, the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round before meeting the Washington Capitals for a highly publicized second-round matchup.

The series was heavily followed as it pitted Ovechkin of the Capitals against both Crosby and Malkin, who together finished as the league's top three scorers that season.

In the second game, Sidney and Ovechkin recorded matching three-goal efforts for their first career playoff hat tricks in a 4–3 Capitals victory.

Despite being down 2–0 in the series, Sidney and the Penguins won the next three games and eventually defeated the Capitals in a seventh and deciding game, in which Crosby added another two goals.

Following a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, Sidney opted against recent NHL tradition and picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy, which he had left untouched the previous year.

In explanation of the change of heart, he said, *"We didn't touch the trophy last year, and obviously we didn't have the result we wanted ... Although we haven't accomplished exactly what we want ... we can still enjoy it."*

The Penguins met the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year in the Finals, and this time Crosby won his first Stanley Cup title in seven games.

At 21 years, 10 months, and 5 days, Sidney became the youngest NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup since 1895. (The youngest captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup in the history of the trophy is Mike Grant of the 1895 Montreal Victorias, who was 21 years and 2 months at the time.)

In the deciding Game 7, Sidney was forced to watch all but 32 seconds of the third period from the bench after suffering a knee injury less than halfway through the second period due to a hit from Johan Franzén.

Following the game, Sidney was criticized by Detroit forward Kris Draper for neglecting to shake hands with some of Detroit's players, most notably captain Nicklas Lidström. An irate Draper was quoted as saying, *"Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially as their captain."*

Sidney replied afterward, saying, *"I just won the Stanley Cup. I think I have the right to celebrate with my teammates. I know it's not easy waiting around... I understand if they don't feel like waiting around. But you know what? It's the easiest thing to do in the world, to shake hands after you win. I had no intentions of trying to skip guys and not shake their hands. I think that was a pretty unreasonable comment."*

In the 2009–10 NHL season, Sidney tied Tampa Bay Lightning centre Steven Stamkos for the lead in goals scored, with 51 goals, earning the Rocket Richard Trophy.

He also garnered 58 assists for a total of 109 points, enough to tie with Alex Ovechkin for second in league points, trailing only the Vancouver Canucks' Henrik Sedin's 112. Crosby was also named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award.

Sidney won the Mark Messier Leadership Award, getting recognized as a "superior leader within the sport, setting a positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to the community."

This was the second time he had received this honour, the other being in January 2007, during the award's first year when it was presented monthly.

The Penguins were defeated in the second round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games. He had 19 points in 13 games in the playoffs, though through seven games against the Canadiens, he had only one goal and four assists.

Game 7 was also the last game to be played at Mellon Arena, the Penguins' home rink since the start of the franchise.

On July 27, 2010, Sidney joined his mentor Mario Lemieux to be the first to skate on the new ice at the Consol Energy Center. The two skated for about five minutes before being joined on the ice by a group of young hockey fans all wearing Lemieux's 66 or Crosby's 87 jerseys.

In the 2010–11 season, Sidney had a 25-game point streak, which began November 5, 2010, against the Anaheim Ducks and ended December 28, 2010, against the New York Islanders. During this streak, he had 27 goals (including three hat-tricks) and 24 assists for 51 points; this streak was tied for 11th-longest point streak in NHL history, and he was named First Star of the Month in both November and December.

On January 3, 2011, Sidney was selected as a 2011 All-Star, along with teammates Evgeni Malkin, Marc-André Fleury and Kris Letang.

However, neither Sidney nor Malkin were available to play in the All-Star Game due to injuries, and rookie Jeff Skinner (along with Paul Stastny) were named as replacements. In consecutive games (the 2011 NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2011, against the Washington Capitals and then January 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning), Sidney suffered hits to his head from Dave Steckel and Victor Hedman respectively.

After experiencing several concussion symptoms, Sidney did not return for the rest of the regular season, and he missed the 2011 playoffs. The Penguins were further crippled when Evgeni Malkin suffered a torn ACL and MCL, taking him out for the rest of the season and leaving the Penguins without their two highest-scoring players.

Despite Sidney's injury and subsequent absence for the final 41 games of the season, he finished as the Penguins' leading scorer. His 66 points in 41 games were 16 points ahead of the second-highest team scorer, defenceman Kris Letang. In so doing, he set an NHL record for fewest games played by an NHL team's points leader.

Sidney's missed the first 20 games of the 2011–12 season due to the lingering effects of his concussion. He returned on November 21, 2011, in a game against the New York Islanders, scoring two goals and two assists in a 5–0 shutout for the Penguins.

However, after playing another seven games (scoring a total of 12 points in 8 games), Sidney's concussion-like symptoms returned in December 2011, possibly following an elbow hit by David Krejčí in his eighth game of the season.

Despite passing a successful ImPACT test, Crosby decided not to return on the ice until he felt perfectly fine, stating that he also must "listen to [his] body".

Sidney returned to action on March 15, 2012, scoring an assist in a 5–2 win against the New York Rangers. Despite playing in only 22 games, he recorded 29 assists to go with 8 goals for 37 points, including his 600th career point. He later credited neurologists at UPMC and chiropractic neurologist Ted Carrick with helping him return to hockey.

Sidney's return in advance of the playoffs resulted in many experts predicting that the Penguins would win their second Stanley Cup title in four years and though the Penguins were accordingly picked to oust the Philadelphia Flyers in their first round series, it was acknowledged that it would be a tough series for both teams.

The Flyers shocked the Penguins by winning the first three consecutive games, the third of which saw the teams combine for 158 penalty minutes.

After the 8–4 loss in Game 3, Sidney was widely criticized for his conduct during the game and for his testy post-game interview.

When asked about an incident where Flyer forward Jakub Voráček had dropped his glove and Crosby swatted it away with his stick before Voráček could pick it up, Crosby replied, saying, *"I don't like any guy on their team there, so his glove was near me, went to pick it up, and I pushed it, so yeah, that's... [...] I don't like them. Because I don't like them. I don't like... I don't like any guy on their team."*

When the interviewer suggested that he could have skated away, he replied, *"Skate away? Yeah, well, I didn't that time."*

The Penguins went on to win the next two games, but ultimately lost the series in Game 6. Crosby would finish with three goals and five assists in the six games.

On June 28, 2012, the Penguins announced that Sidney had agreed to a 12-year, $104.4 million contract extension set to keep him in Pittsburgh through to the end of the 2024–25 NHL season.

The start of the 2012–13 was postponed until January 2013 due to the owners locking out the players as negotiations took place to solidify a new collective agreement for the players.

During this time, Sidney was a regular attendee of meetings taking place between National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) representatives and NHL owners. The lock-out began on September 15, 2012, and ended January 6, 2013, with the NHL regular season beginning on January 19.

During the 119-day lock-out, Sidney was often questioned about his future plans should the lockout persist, and said on more than one occasion that he was entertaining contract offers from various teams in European leagues (where many NHL players went so that they could continue playing in a professional capacity while waiting for the lock-out to end or for the NHL season to be officially cancelled). He continued to practice and participated with other NHL players who had not gone overseas in several exhibition games open to the public.

With the season finally underway in late-January, Sidney set the pace for scoring, totalling 31 points (9 goals and 22 assists) through the first 21 games. He remained hot through March, scoring another 25 points (6 goals and 19 assists) in 15 games as the Penguins went unbeaten over this stretch.

However, Sidney's regular season came to an abrupt end on March 30 in a home game against the New York Islanders. His teammate Brooks Orpik unleashed a slapshot which caught Crosby in the mouth, causing the centreman to lose several teeth.

Sidney was down on the ice for several minutes before the medical staff was able to help him to the dressing room with him holding a towel over his face. Initially the prognosis was not severe, but it was discovered a short while later that he had broken his jaw and would require several rounds of reconstructive dental surgery.

He missed the final 12 games of the regular season and finished fourth in the scoring race, losing the title to Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis by four points.

Sidney returned to the ice May 5 for the Penguins' second game against their first-round playoff opponents, the New York Islanders (which ironically, was the team Pittsburgh had been playing when he was injured).

Despite two goals from Sidney, Pittsburgh lost the game 3–2, tying the series at one game a piece. The Penguins would ultimately prevail 4–2 in the series over the Isles with him scoring nine points (three goals and six assists) in the five games in which he played.

Sidney and the Penguins moved on to face the Ottawa Senators in the second round, with Crosby scoring a hat-trick in Game 2 of the series. Pittsburgh quickly defeated Ottawa four games to one in the series with a still-hot Sidney finishing the series with four goals and two assists.

The Eastern Conference Finals came down to what many felt were the two best teams in the conference: Pittsburgh and Boston. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask put on an outstanding performance, shutting-down Pittsburgh's potent offence with the help of a stifling defensive effort from his teammates. The Penguins were held to just two goals in the series, with Rask stopping 134 of 136 shots on goal (.985%).

Crosby, who had been strong for the Penguins in the regular season and through the first two rounds of the playoffs was held off the score sheet entirely, finishing the series with no goals and no assists on 13 shots. The Bruins swept the Penguins in four-straight games, ending Crosby's bid for a second Stanley Cup championship.

In the off-season, Sidney was awarded his second Ted Lindsay Award and finished as runner-up to the Hart Memorial Trophy and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Sidney put together a healthy and productive campaign in 2013–14, playing 80 games for the first time since the 2009–10 season. He finished the season with 36 goals and a league-leading 68 assists, marking the first time in his career that he led the league in assists.

He also finished with a league-high 104 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy for the second time in his career. He also went on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award.

Finishing first overall in the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins were matched-up with a new division rival, the Columbus Blue Jackets, in the first round of the 2014 playoffs.

Despite a very back-and-forth series and not a single goal by Sidney, the Penguins defeated the Jackets in six games to advance to a second-round matchup with the New York Rangers. Going into their second-round series with the Rangers, he looked to end a long playoff goal drought, which dated back to the 2013 Conference Finals against the Boston Bruins.

After dropping Game 1 at home, Sidney broke his goal drought in Game 2 as the Pens tied the series at 1–1 heading back to Madison Square Garden. The Penguins would capitalize on their Game 2 win, taking next two games and eliminating the Rangers home ice advantage.

However, the Rangers would quickly rebound, winning Game 5, 6 and 7, sending the Penguins home without a prize for the fifth straight season.

The team's collapse prompted Penguins ownership to fire general manager Ray Shero, replacing him with Jim Rutherford, the former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. Rutherford's first action as GM was to fire Dan Bylsma as head coach, and on June 25, he announced that Mike Johnston was hired as new head coach.

Sidney finished the 2014–15 season with the highest point-per-game average and a total of 84 points, trailing only John Tavares (86 points) and Art Ross winner Jamie Benn (87 points).

On November 26, 2014, he scored his 800th career point, becoming the sixth-fastest player in NHL history to reach that milestone.

On January 4, 2015, in a game against Philadelphia, Sidney scored his 300th career NHL goal. Despite a strong start to the season, the injury-plagued Penguins entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's second wild card.

Facing the New York Rangers, Sidney helped even the series with two goals in Game 2. Despite this, the Penguins were defeated in five games and was eliminated in the first round for the first time since the 2012 playoffs.

Starting the 2015–16 season, the Penguins had gone through a major overhaul of their roster, adding a number of offensive players such as right winger Phil Kessel.

Despite a line-up laced with some of the world's finest offensive talents, Sidney struggled to score points, as he and the team had for much of the Johnston era.

By the time Johnston was fired on December 12, 2015, after posting a 15–10–3 record through 28 games, some media outlets began speculating that Sidney had aged out of his prime scoring years.

On December 16, The Washington Post wrote, *"Sidney Crosby has widely been regarded as the NHL's best player since he burst on the scene as a rookie in 2005 ... But Crosby just hasn't been himself this season, scoring just six goals in 29 games and sitting with a plus/minus of minus-seven. All players go through slumps, but it is clear that the Crosby we knew has been on the decline for some time."*

His slow start was capped off by not being selected as a starter for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.

However, under new head coach Mike Sullivan, Sidney turned his season around, outscoring all NHL players from December 12 through the end of the season. On February 2, he scored three-straight goals for his first natural hat-trick in more than five years.

Four days later, Sidney scored his 900th, 901st and 902nd career NHL points to fuel a 3–2 overtime comeback victory over the Florida Panthers. He tallied at least 1 point in 15 of Pittsburgh's 16 games in March, including six multi-point efforts, and was subsequently named the NHL's First Star of the Month.

On April 2, he recorded his 600th NHL assist as the Penguins clinched their berth in the 2016 playoffs. Six days later, he scored in overtime against Washington Capitals to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Sidney finished the season with 36 goals and 85 points in 80 games, including a career-high nine game-winning goals, and was voted team MVP for the sixth time in his career.

Sidney's two-way game also received league-wide praise, with Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman stating that he would be a good candidate for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward.

His comeback also impressed Wayne Gretzky, who said, *"He had a tough start, but the sign of an elite athlete is a guy that battles through it. He didn't point any fingers, he just battled through it, and I don't think there is any question the last 40 or so games, he made a case for the MVP. He was that good. He went to another level."*

On May 7, Sidney was named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. He finished as the first runner-up with 800 points and 11 first-place votes.

After losing to New York in the past two playoffs, the Penguins eliminated the Rangers in the first round, winning four games to one, after losing to the Rangers by the same series margin in the first round the previous year.

Sidney led the team in scoring with three goals and eight points. The Penguins then eliminated the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in six games, without much offensive production from either Crosby (two assists) or Malkin (one goal and one assist).

Advancing to their first Conference Final since 2013, Sidney scored the overtime winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2. The goal was scored 40 seconds into overtime for a 3–2 win, the fastest overtime goal in Penguins' playoff history, and the first of his career in the playoffs.

In the following game, Sidney scored the game-winning goal in a 4–2 victory. After dropping the next two games, he scored his third game-winning goal of the series in Game 6, forcing a final game in Pittsburgh.

Defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1 in Game 7, Sidney helped his team win the Eastern Conference championship, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final against the San Jose Sharks. In the series, the Penguins defeated the Sharks in six games to earn him his second Stanley Cup title.

Sidney became the ninth player to win the Stanley Cup twice as well as two Olympic gold medals. Finishing the playoffs with 19 points (6 goals and 13 assists), including the primary helper on the Cup-winning goal scored by Kris Letang, Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Sidney missed the first six games of the 2016–17 season after being diagnosed with a concussion just a few days before the season opener against the Washington Capitals. Upon his return, he scored 30 goals in his first 45 games.

On February 16, 2017, he registered an assist on a Chris Kunitz goal against the Winnipeg Jets to reach 1,000 NHL points, doing so in just his 757th game to become the 12th-fastest (and 11th-youngest) player to reach that milestone. He also participated in his first NHL All-Star Game since 2007, winning the shooting accuracy segment of the Skills Competition.

Sidney was named team MVP and finished the season as the runner up for the Art Ross Trophy with 44 goals and 89 points in 75 games.

It marked the eighth time he finished a season in the top-three in NHL scoring, tying Mario Lemieux, Stan Mikita and Phil Esposito for the third-most instances in history behind only Wayne Gretzky (15 times) and Gordie Howe (12 times).

With his 44 goals, Sidney captured the Rocket Richard Trophy for the second time in his career. He was also named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award.

Entering the 2017 playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Penguins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games before meeting the Washington Capitals in the second round.

After winning the first two games on the road, Sidney sustained a concussion after suffering an injury from a slash and cross-check from Alexander Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen in Game 3.

He missed Game 4 but returned to practice the next day and played in Game 5. The Penguins would eventually eliminate the Capitals in Game 7, with Sidney assisting on the series-winning goal.

The Penguins then defeated the Ottawa Senators in a gruelling seven-game series to secure their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

Sidney had the primary assist on the series-clinching goal, scored by Chris Kunitz in double overtime. Facing the Nashville Predators in the Finals, Pittsburgh jumped out to a two-game lead, despite being outplayed for long stretches in both games.

The Predators responded by tying up the series, winning Game 3 and 4 at home. In Game 5, the Penguins' captain delivered a dominant performance, adding three assists in a 6–0 win to pass Lemieux for most Stanley Cup Final points (20) in franchise history.

After defeating the Predators 2–0 in Game 6, the Penguins became the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings, and the first to do so in the salary cap era.

Sidney won his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs, only the third player to do so, after Bernie Parent (1974, 1975) and Mario Lemieux (1991, 1992). He finished second in scoring behind Evgeni Malkin with 27 points (8 goals and 19 assists) in 24 games.

In the 2017–18 season, Sidney appeared in all 82 of Pittsburgh's regular season games for the first time in his career, finishing with 29 goals and 60 assists for 89 points.

On February 12, 2018, Sidney scored his 400th NHL goal, becoming the 95th player to reach the milestone. On March 21, he recorded his 700th career NHL assist.

The Penguins began their 2018 playoff campaign against the Philadelphia Flyers. In Game 1 of the Battle of Pennsylvania, Sidney recorded a natural hat-trick in a 7–0 win.

On April 18, in Game 4, he passed Mario Lemieux as the Penguins' all-time playoff points leader with 173. The Penguins ultimately defeated the Flyers in six games, with Crosby scoring 6 goals and 13 points.

After the series, retired Hockey Hall of Fame centre Bryan Trottier said of Sidney, *"Sid has a wonderful gift to maintain his composure and not get rattled. You like the emotion he shows, too. I think he fires his team up, and that's why he's wearing the 'C' [for captain]."*

The Penguins were eventually eliminated in Game 6 of the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, ending Penguins's bid for a three-peat. Sidney finished with 21 points (9 goals and 12 assists) in 12 games, pushing his career playoff total to 185, tied with Steve Yzerman for tenth-most all-time.

On January 3, 2019, Sidney was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game for the eighth time in his career.

He scored four goals and four assists, helping the Metropolitan Division to victory; his efforts won him his first All-Star MVP award, making him the sixth in NHL history to have won that award after having won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy.

During the 2018–19 season, he passed Mario Lemieux to become the Penguins' all-time leader in games played (916), and moved into second place on the Pens' all-time scoring list with his 440th career goal in a 5–1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on March 3, 2019.

Two days later, he became the 48th player in NHL history to score at least 1,200 career points.

On April 5, 2019, the Penguins clinched a playoff berth for the 13th consecutive season under Sidney's captaincy. He finished the season with 100 points (35 goals and 65 assists), the first time he has reached the 100-point mark since scoring 104 points in 2013–14.

Sidney finished 4th in voting for the Selke Trophy and became a Hart Trophy finalist for the seventh time in his career. He was also elected team-MVP.

## International Play

Crosby debuted internationally for Canada at the 2003 U-18 Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He was the youngest player on the under-18 team, having turned 16 shortly before the beginning of the tournament.

After seven consecutive gold medals at the tournament, Team Canada lost in the bronze medal game to the Czech Republic 8–2. He scored four goals and six points over five tournament games.

Sidney went on to compete in two World Junior Championships with Team Canada's under-20 team. When he was named to the team in December 2003, he became the fifth 16-year-old to represent Canada at the tournament, following Jay Bouwmeester, Jason Spezza, Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretzky.

Competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, he then became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the tournament at 16 years, 4 months, and 21 days when he scored against Switzerland in a 7–2 win; this record would last until the 2012 World Juniors, when Aleksander Barkov of Finland scored a goal aged 16 years, 4 months.

Sidney finished the tournament with two goals and three assists in six games, helping Canada to a silver medal finish. The following year, he returned for Canada at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

He improved to six goals and three assists as Canada earned gold. Sidney stated the following year that his most memorable hockey moment was winning his World Junior gold medal.

After completing his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney competed in the 2006 IIHF World Championship as an alternate captain for Canada. Scoring a tournament-best eight goals and eight assists in nine games, he became the youngest player ever to win a World Championship scoring title.

Despite his performance, Canada failed to medal, being shut-out by Finland 5–0 in the bronze medal game. Sidney was named the tournament's top forward and to the competition's all-star team.

After omitted from Canada's Olympic team in 2006, Sidney was named to the Canadian roster on December 30, 2009, as an alternate captain for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He scored the game-winning shootout goal for Canada in the second game of the preliminary round against Switzerland.

After going pointless in the quarter- and semi-final against Russia and Slovakia respectively, he scored the winning goal 7 minutes and 40 seconds into overtime against the United States in the gold medal game.

The goal has later become known as the "Golden Goal" due to it being scored in the gold medal game. It is also regarded by some as "Canada's most iconic sports moment."

Following the Penguins' second-round elimination in the 2010 playoffs, Sidney declined an invitation to join Canada midway through the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany.

Sidney was selected to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics and was later named team captain. Canada won gold, with Sidney contributing one goal and two assists in six games. He scored his only goal in the final against Sweden, further establishing his reputation as "a player who rises up in big games."

In 2015, he captained Canada to its first World Championship title since 2007, with the team winning all 10 games and scoring 66 goals.

Sidney (who scored four goals and seven assists in nine games) became the 26th member of the Triple Gold Club. He is the first member of the club to captain all three championship teams and the first member to be a first overall NHL draft pick.

In 2016, Hockey Canada named Sidney the captain for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.

Sidney (who led the tournament in scoring with ten points) helped Team Canada win the championship, and was named the Most Valuable Player. He joined Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky as the only players to win the Conn Smythe, Hart Memorial Trophy and World Cup MVP.

Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock described Sidney as a serial winner, saying, "He's that high-end competitor. He's a good leader because he tries to do it right all the time. He demands a lot out of himself. In doing so, he demands a lot out of his teammates."

## Playing Style

As the captain and first line centre for Canada, Sidney played with different line mates in almost every game as the coaching staff struggled to find players capable of keeping pace with him at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and again at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Sidney's fellow countryman and Olympic teammate, Rick Nash was questioned by the media about this, at one point saying, *"I think he's a tough guy to keep up with. He's so fast. The way he thinks about the game seems like it's far beyond everyone else's process. It's the same thing in the last Olympics, keep shuffling around until you found something that fit."*

Team Canada's assistant coach in Vancouver, Ken Hitchcock, recalled, *"Sid thinks at a level, when the other team has the puck, that's above everyone else in the league [NHL]. His anticipation when the other team has the puck is so high, he knows where it's going ahead of time. He can pick off passes, make you make errors. And then he also knows where people are located on the ice, so he can turn that turnover into a scoring chance."*

Other professional NHL players have particularly noted Sidney for his backhand shot.

For example, in his column for The Players' Tribune, Jonathan Quick of Los Angeles Kings praised Sidney for having "the best backhand shot" in the NHL, saying: *"His blade is almost completely flat, which combined with his ridiculous forearm strength gives him the ability to go forehand to your five hole instantly or turn it over to the backhand and roof it (a lot of guys can't do this with a flat blade)."*

## Personal Life

Sidney rarely discusses his personal life and avoids social media.

Andy O'Brien, his fitness trainer for over 15 years, has said: *"He [Crosby] wants to be one of the guys and doesn't really seek to separate himself or get special treatment in any way... He takes a lot of enjoyment in the regular, simple things in life and having a normal, ordinary routine."*

He lived with Mario Lemieux's family in Sewickley, Pennsylvania from 2005 until 2010.
In the spring of 2010, Sidney purchased his own home in the same area. In June of 2006, he bought his first house on Grand Lake in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On May 29, 2010, it was announced that Sidney would sign the richest endorsement contract in NHL history with Reebok, expected to pay him $1.4 million per year for five to seven years.

In 2015, he signed a six-year endorsement contract with Adidas. He also has endorsement deals with Bell, Tim Hortons and Gatorade.

Regarded as one of Canada's "legendary goal-scorers and storied leaders", Sidney was featured in Canada Post's NHL Great Canadian Forwards stamp collection (alongside Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Darryl Sittler, Mark Messier and Steve Yzerman).

Sidney has a younger sister, Taylor, who is a hockey goaltender. Like her brother, she went to high school at Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, to play with the school's hockey program.

In 2014, Taylor joined the Northeastern Huskies women's ice hockey team as a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston. In 2015, she transferred to Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University and played with the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey team through to graduation at the end of the 2017–18 school year.

Sidney continues to be active in the community in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. He created the Sidney Crosby Foundation in 2009, an organization committed to providing support to charities benefiting children.

In 2015, he launched an inaugural Hockey School in Cole Harbour. His "Little Penguins Program" has provided free equipment and lessons to more than ten thousand local youngsters in Pittsburgh.