Quotes About Sid

People are forever talking about, or commenting on Sidney Crosby. Here are some of the things that's been said about him throughout the years.

(For quotes relating to Sid and Geno, either talking about each other or others talking about them, click here.)

## Being Sid

### 2016

* “He’s under a microscope all the time, as you know, but he’s a joy to be around. You can be a fierce competitor in everything you do and still be a great human being.” - Mike Babcock
* "Exceptional person." - Barry Trotz
* "He just did. I've got a lot of respect for guys like that. And they were all like that." - Barry Trotz, on a moment between Sidney and his son Nolan during the World Cup of Hockey which stuck with him. Sidney saw his son Nolan, who has Down syndrome, playing on his iPad and sat down to play with him for a few minutes.

## Being the Best

### 2017

* "He's always been a guy who thinks one step ahead of the game. All of his actions on or off the ice are calculated for him to be the best player he can be." - Max Talbot

### 2016

* “There is really not much more that can be said about the player that he is. The guys in our room feel he is the best player in the world, and we’re glad he’s on our team.” - Steven Stamkos

### 2013

* "Trust me, when all this is over and I'm done playing hockey, he's probably the guy who believed in me the most...When the best player in the game does that for you, it means a lot.” - Pascal Dupuis

## Leadership

### 2017

* "And he came back after the summer, he told me that he was not quite ready. He wanted to earn respect, not only from his own team, but around the league. That shows maturity for a 19-year-old." - Michel Therrien, on Crosby not accepting the captaincy when it was first offered to him.
* "I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a place that has good ice. I think Pittsburgh actually has good ice, after years of Sidney [Crosby] going over ... it started with all of us bitching about it. It finally got to the point where Sid 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. It was good dialogue between them, and the ice started getting better and better. That's the one place I think is consistently pretty good." - Brooks Orpik, on the ice condition in Pittsburgh and how Sidney Crosby helped change it for the better.

### 2016

* “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.” - Mike Babcock

### 2011

* "He's such a good player, such a good person. There's leaders, and then there's leaders of players. He gets along with the guys good. It's not surprising. Everything he does has got class to it. I just like the way he leads the guys." - Ken Hitchcock
* "Some guys get it with their teammates. Some guys are leaders in the media and some guys are leaders with management or coaches or a combination. He just digs in with the players, he has fun with the guys." - Ken Hitchcock

## On-Ice Performance

* “He tries s--- that you think is 10 per cent and he’s thinking is 50 per cent, and he can do it. He can do that stuff.” - Ken Hitchcock

### 2016

* “There are reasons why he is considered the best player in the world." - Brent Burns
* “When things don’t go well, he doesn’t get frustrated. When people cross-check him, he doesn’t get riled up. He just knows he’s going to have success over time.” - Mike Babcock
* “He’s a good, good, good, good player. A serial winner." - Mike Babcock
* “Sid’s that No. 1 guy that everyone looks at in the room, and tries to figure out what he’s doing to be so good. He’s a special player. He’s showed that early this season, coming off a Stanley Cup win last season. He’s been the best in the world for a long time now, and seems to be getting better somehow." - Jonathan Toews
* “He just seems to always have the puck. The more you have the puck, the energy you have, the stronger you are. And he never gives it away. Makes quick plays.” - Jonathan Toews
* "I mean, you get to work with guys that you try to stop night in and night out. There's a reason that Sidney Crosby is considered the best player on the planet. You see why they're stars and why they're virtually unstoppable some nights. It was great to be a part of it." - Barry Trotz
* "Crosby put a shot on net, Pascal Dupuis jumped on the rebound, and it was 1–0 Pittsburgh. Less than a minute had expired. Crosby had two points before the period was half over. ‘I was just like…’ Eichel says, trailing off, laughing. ‘He was buzzing around. It was pretty surreal." - Jack Eichel
* "When you look at his game, he's gotten so good at the little plays in front," ..."Being open on the back door, like you saw on the one goal against us earlier in the year (on Nov. 29)."""You see a lot of his goals this year are deflections and tips," ... "It's obviously something he's worked at, and in the new NHL, teams are so good at defending, you've got to find new ways to score, and he's obviously doing that this year." - Taylor Hall
* “I think he’s more of a complete player... Defensively, I think he’s improved a lot over the last couple of years...That’s the biggest thing that in his game has improved, is that he can play both sides of the puck.” - Mario Lemieux on how Sid has grown as a player.

### 2015

* "Crosby is a genius, obviously, but his genius lies in his ability to find seams, exploit them. He sees passes and angles no one else does. He’s shifty and crafty, almost fox-like in the way he plays." - Bobby Farnham

## On Playing With Sid

### Team Canada

#### 2016

* “I’m just trying to read off what he’s going to do, and he’s usually always a step ahead of everyone, so it’s about reading that and making sure I’m in position to help him.” - Patrice Bergeron
* “His hockey IQ makes everyone so much better around him. He’s a special player." - Brad Marchand
* “He’s a great guy ...I learned a lot from him. We were able to win (gold). Those kind of guys, when you go to battle you know you’re going to go hard at each other. That’s why we respect each other because we have the same mindset, the same goal.” -Claude Giroux

## One of the Guys

### 2017

* "We used to tease him about how fat his butt is. He'd kind of sit there and giggle. Just being one of the guys." - Colby Armstrong

## Philanthropy

### 2013

* "He wanted to do something for kids that couldn’t afford to play. So it’s his program. Every kid gets a jersey, and it’s No.87 so we don’t have kids fighting over 87. He doesn’t like to talk about it a whole lot. He just likes to do it. He just quietly does what he can to help." - David Morehouse

### 2015

* "I didn't have a choice, but I like coming anyway." - Nathan MacKinnon, on being asked if Crosby asked him to help with the Sidney Crosby hockey school.

### 2016

* “He’s an incredible person... He does so much on the ice, but also off the ice with his foundation here. He’s a great kid and I love having him around.” -Mario Lemieux , on Sidney's work with the Sidney Crosby Foundation.

## Sid and Media

### 2016

* “It’s a different world than I am in. He always has cameras on him. They are always dissecting his game. It’s not an easy situation, but he handles it perfectly.” - Patrice Bergeron

## Sid the Kid

### 2016

* “You’d hear about this kid who was very dominant, and every year I was supposed to play against him he’d move up, because he was that good. So I remember watching him, and he’d be playing with kids three years older, and I remember the game I watched for the first time: It was 6-1, and he had five goals and an assist. He’s always been a dominant player at every age, and you knew he was going to be a good player.” - Brad Marchand

## Style of Play

### 2016

* “I’ve coached him a number of times. (Crosby) likes to play with guys with speed that turn over, and guys with hockey sense. The other thing is he wants to be on offence, so if you play him with one really intelligent defensive player as well, like Bergie, it helps him out.” - Mike Babcock
* "Crosby also likes having a winger who covers the high zone defensively, so he can go to work without worrying, and that’s Bergeron. As Hitchcock said, Sid can’t play when he’s worried." - Bruce Arthur
* "He has everything you would want out of a player -- from the skill level, his shot, his vision, his skating, he's strong, creative and he's everything you would ever want in a player. I don't think he lacks anything right now,"... "The thing that makes him great is his love for the game. He loves the game. He's not looking to cut corners. He loves coming to the rink. He loves being on the ice." - Claude Julien

## Work Ethic

### 2017

* "But when you put your gear on and went out for practice, you saw he was different. You saw a different person. The focus, the motivation, the drive. Especially for me, being late in my career where I thought I'd seen everything." - Billy Guerin, on how Crosby was just one of the guys until he stepped on the ice.

### 2016

* “But he actually does [pick Toews' brain]. I think that’s a quality the best players in the world have. He’s always looking for ways to better himself, even if it’s from a guy like me.” - Jonathan Toews
* “He’s just the ultimate professional in his preparation. I was impressed by his hunger to figure out what to do on the big ice, the conversations we had about it. I think he’s the best example of playing the complete game.” - Ralph Krueger
* “We have so much respect for how good of a player he is, but I don’t think he’s as good as he is by accident. His work ethic is second to none. This kid comes to the rink every day. He’s the first guy on the ice. He works on his game tirelessly every single day to be the best. Right now he certainly is playing inspiring hockey for our group.” - Mike Sullivan

### 2009

* "I say this with the most admiration, but he's the most gifted grinder in the game. He's willing to do it." - Darren Eliot