Sidney Crosby has won more gold medals than most people will ever see. He brought the Pittsburgh Penguins back to the playoffs after being injured at the Olympics. And he's still going to the World Championship.
Sidney Crosby should be too old for all this.
Too tired. Too sore. And frankly, too good to be playing in a tournament that many other NHLers couldn't care less about.
After a condensed NHL season where he went to the Olympics, got injured and then came back and led the Pittsburgh Penguins to an unlikely playoff appearance, you'd expect the 38-year-old to be physically exhausted and mentally drained from all the hockey he's played. He should be booking a trip to some resort where he can take a break. At the very least, he should be putting his equipment away for the summer.
Instead, Crosby is heading to Switzerland to once again represent Canada at the World Championship, which begins on May 15.
Surprised? Well, we probably shouldn't be.
This is why Crosby is called Captain Canada. This is why you cannot rule him out for the 2030 Olympics. And this is why Jon Cooper, who coached Crosby at the Olympics, once compared him to a religious deity.
"In our country," Cooper said at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, "he walks on water."
Crosby might not actually walk on water, but he rarely passes up an opportunity to skate on ice — especially when it comes to international competitions.
This will be the fourth time the native of Cole Harbour, N.S., will be playing at the World Championship.
For a tournament that coincides with the Stanley Cup playoffs, four appearances are a lot for a player who has only failed to qualify for the playoffs four times. For context, Brady Tkachuk, who has qualified for the playoffs twice in his eight-year career, has participated once. Rasmus Dahlin, who made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, has participated twice.
Tkachuk's Senators were swept in the first round. Meanwhile, Crosby's Penguins forced a Game 6, and the captain had five points in six games while averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time.
And yet, two weeks after his season ended at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, Canada's greatest hockey ambassador got the itch to represent his country.
Again, we shouldn't be surprised.
In addition to the three Stanley Cups he has won with the Penguins, Crosby has also won two Olympic gold medals, as well as gold at the World Junior Championship, World Championship, World Cup and the 4 Nations Face-Off. Really, Crosby has done it all and achieved it all. But clearly he's not done just yet.
Crosby will get a chance at another gold medal at the World Championship, where he will be joining a stacked Canadian team that is captained by Macklin Celebrini (let's see if the 19-year-old gives up his 'C' to Crosby) and includes Philadelphia's Porter Martone, John Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly.
Canada was considered to be the favorite. It certainly is now that Crosby has joined the team.
The Penguins captain might not be the same player who last won the Hart Trophy 12 years ago, but he is still one of the NHL's best.
This season, Crosby led the Penguins with 29 goals and 74 points in 68 games. It was his 21st season where he averaged at least a point per game, and it moved him up to seventh place on the NHL's all-time scoring list (1,761).
It was a long season, made even longer because of the Olympics.
It was at the Olympics where Crosby had six points in four games before a knee-on-knee hit from Czechia's Radko Gudas in the quarterfinal knocked the Team Canada captain from the tournament. It was a massive blow — not only to Crosby, but to the entire team. Without their captain and second-line center, Canada still advanced to the final, but ended up losing in overtime to the U.S. in the gold medal game.
You have to think that things might have ended differently had Crosby been able to play. It certainly must have left a bitter taste in Crosby's mouth as he watched the outcome of the game from the dressing room. Perhaps that is why he wanted to put on the Canadian jersey once more.
It's only the World Championship. But who knows, it might be the last time he gets to represent Canada.
However, knowing Crosby's history of showing up for international events, don't count on it.
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