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andreisvechnikov · 1 year

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NHL99: Sidney Crosby, icon of his era, never strays from his greater mission

It was 2016 in Minnesota and an aggravated coach Mike Sullivan was searching for the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins following a loss to the Wild. Sullivan needed to speak with Sidney Crosby and was walking briskly on the event level of Xcel Energy Center.

Then, he stopped in his tracks.

Around the corner outside of the Penguins’ locker room, Crosby, minus his jersey but otherwise still wearing his equipment, was sitting on the floor. Speaking with a child in a wheelchair, Crosby sat so that he could better make eye contact. He often does this. Sullivan executed a U-turn while his captain sat with the child for 20 minutes, a scene that unfolds countless times across North America every season.

Thousands upon thousands of people have flocked to arenas for decades to watch Crosby play hockey since he was a boy. Crosby’s greater mission, though, has always been to comfort the sick and unlucky among us with an uncommon grace and thoughtfulness that is uniquely his own.

“There’s never been anyone like him before,” former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. “And there will never be anyone like him after.”

The widely held belief that the world of professional sports doesn’t showcase any authentic role models is inaccurate so long as Sidney Patrick Crosby walks among us.

“You always hear that saying,” Bobby Orr said. “You know, that so and so is a better person than he is a player. Well, the great thing about Sid is, he’s one of the five greatest players in history. There’s no question about that. But he actually is a better person than he is a player. Now, think about that. I love him.”

At 35, Crosby is the hockey chief of the world, and he lands at No. 4 on The Athletic’s list of the greatest players of the modern era of the NHL. He has won three Stanley Cup championships, two Olympic gold medals, has registered 541 goals, 1,469 points and, quite remarkably, has lived up to every bit of the hype. His legacy is perfectly safe. He simply keeps going at this stage because he loves hockey and is obsessed with winning. Mike Babcock once called him a “serial winner,” which is the perfect description of Crosby. On and off the ice.

On the ice, he is a living legend. The massive legs, the impenetrable ability to protect the puck, the greatest backhand ever, the cannon-like burst of speed through the neutral zone, the rare playmaking ability, the tenacity, the intelligence, the determination, the precociousness as a teenager, the longevity as a thirty-something and the ability to score goals on hockey’s biggest stage are all indelible trademarks of his greatness.

The mythology of Crosby off the ice, however, may be even more worthy of inclusion in the history books and it is very much rooted in reality. He’s not just an ambassador for hockey, but an ambassador of kindness.

“He was like that even as a little boy,” said Troy Crosby, his father. “He was getting so much attention when he was little, and then as he became a teenager. It could have gone to his head. He could have gotten a big ego. All Sidney ever cared about was taking care of other people.”

It was evident from the very beginning.

Crosby made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, in New Jersey. It was a zoo after the morning skate. Hockey was back after a year-long lockout, Crosby’s debut was being made in the New York area against Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur and it was Mario Lemieux’s 40th birthday. While he was the center of attention, Crosby, who had turned 18 two months earlier, wasn’t concerned about himself.

“He was giving these interviews and there were people everywhere” said Tom McMillan, the former Penguins’ vice president of communications. “But he noticed, in the hallway outside of the locker room, that his mom was being surrounded by reporters. He was worried about her. She was fine, but he was worried about her. So he comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, can you make sure my mom is OK?’ From the very beginning, he was worried about everyone but himself. He never changed.”

Including his salary and endorsements, Crosby has earned in the neighborhood of $200 million in his career. His father isn’t the only one who says Crosby hasn’t changed. His teammates agree. Team employees agree. Even living legends like Orr agree.

There is a simple explanation for this, Crosby insists.

“I don’t think money ever gives you the vehicle to treat anyone differently or to be disrespectful,” he said. “I get to do what I love to do and I’m very appreciative of that. I don’t take that for granted one bit, regardless of what my pay is. I get to do what I love. The least I can do is treat people well along the way.”

Crosby’s legend in the Penguins organization is such that his contributions to society draw biblical comparisons.

Literally.

“I always say that he’s like a child of God,” former Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald said. “That’s how I’ve always seen him. He has a certain light in his eyes that I always notice. He’s a genuinely good soul. People often give credit to a person’s parents for raising a great kid. I totally get that and they did a great job. But I also see a natural soulfulness to Sid that is innate and not necessarily learned.”

‘No child is ever left behind’ Charles Barkley once made considerable headlines for a Nike advertising campaign that stated, “I am not a role model.”

Crosby is a role model, and he knows it. He embraces it.

“I’ve been around a while and I’ve met a lot of people,” Rutherford said. “I’ve never met anyone like him. He only does things for the right reasons. And he cares about people so very much. Other players of his stature don’t always act like this. But he’s different. And you see it most when it comes to the way he treats children.”

The Penguins are the NHL’s oldest team, thus, many players have children. During the Stanley Cup years in 2016 and 2017, it was commonplace for Matt Cullen’s children to be hanging on Crosby after playoff wins, as they would naturally gravitate to the best player in the world who just happened to be the nicest guy in the room.

Crosby, in fact, has been known to have spirited mini-sticks games with Nikita Malkin. And yet, his treatment of children isn’t confined to the children of his teammates.

One story lives in Crosby lore.

It was Jan. 11, 2014. The Penguins had just won in Calgary, 2-1, in the weeks leading up to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. After the game, the Penguins departed to their bus on a frigid Alberta evening.

While sitting on the bus, Crosby noticed a handful of teenagers standing behind a fence, which was located on a steep hill beside the Saddledome. They were chanting Crosby’s name and had signs wishing him well in the Olympics.

Upon seeing this, Crosby, dress shoes and all, sprinted up the steep, icy hill. He not only signed all of their jerseys but talked hockey with them for a few minutes before slowly coasting back down the hill.

“I’ll never forget seeing that,” Steigerwald said. “Who else does that?”

Not many people would do such a thing, it can be presumed. But Rutherford saw it every day while he was the general manager of the Penguins.

“The way he treats children is the single most impressive thing I’ve ever seen in my career,” Rutherford said. “When you see those groups of people who want autographs, you have to be careful. A lot of those groups have people that are there every day and looking to sell autographs. But I’ll tell you this about Sid: Never, not one time, has he ever passed by a child who wanted an autograph. No child is ever left behind. I’ve seen him sign autographs and then get on the team bus. Then, he sees a kid pop up who didn’t get his autograph signed. So, he always gets off the bus and makes sure the kid has an autograph and a picture with him. He understands the effect he has on people, but he’s the farthest thing from arrogant you could possibly imagine.”

Crosby is a regular at the UMPC Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. While the Penguins do occasionally orchestrate team visits that Crosby naturally takes part in, he’s a regular at the hospital. He does so on his own time.

No cameras. No reporters. No attention.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Troy Crosby said. “That’s the way he wants it. It means a lot to him to spend time with kids, just him and the kids. He doesn’t want people knowing about it and he goes to lengths to keep it that way.”

Crosby seems miffed when others are blown away by his character. To him, to be polite, generous and thoughtful is simply natural.

“Treating people the right way has always been important to me,” Crosby said. “Whether it’s your teammates, people you see at the rink, fans, kids, whatever. You’re supposed to be good to people in life. You’re supposed to be respectful. So, that’s what I try to do every day. It’s always been a very important thing to me.”

On May 31, 2007, the Penguins made Crosby, then 19, the youngest captain in NHL history at that time.

The move seemed simple on the surface. He already had become the world’s greatest player and, as a teenager, had just claimed the Hart and Art Ross trophies. His maturity level was uncommonly advanced. He was already a rock star in Pittsburgh.

Easy choice, right?

“Not necessarily,” Crosby said. “It was quite uncomfortable, to be honest. I had never been a captain before.”

Say what?

Well, it makes sense. Crosby was only 16 and 17 when he played his junior hockey in Rimouski. In his younger days of hockey, he always played in older age groups because of his advanced performance. This was very much a new experience for him.

“I tried to learn things from other captains I had in the past and other people who had been captains,” he said. “But at the same time, I wanted to be my own person. I wanted to lead in a way that was natural to me. And you never stop learning. I’m still learning to be a captain to this day, honestly. But I think it was probably a good thing for me, looking back. It helped me grow.”

So did the presence of a fellow icon in the locker room.

Lemieux and Crosby played together in only 26 games before a heart condition forced the oft-injured Lemieux to finally retire for good. On the ice, they only had a few magical moments together, as they rarely played on the same line. Lemieux was slowing down and at the very end.

But before he left, he taught Crosby a few lessons.

“More than anything, he taught me how to stay calm. He was so, so even keeled,” Crosby said. “It didn’t matter what the score was, good or bad. Mario was always the same. He always looked the same, spoke the same. I watched him a lot and I saw how level-headed he was. I think that probably comes to him more naturally than it does to me. I’m probably more emotional than he is. I’m an emotional player. But he taught me how to find that sweet spot. Getting to play with him for a handful of games was a big deal for me.”

Crosby, many will tell you, is the best captain they’ve ever had.

“He’s unreal,” said one of the newest Penguins, Ryan Poehling. “When I got traded to Pittsburgh last summer, I had a text from him a couple of hours after the deal. I remember thinking that it was pretty incredible that Sidney Crosby is reaching out to me that quickly. Then you get to know him, and you immediately realize that this is a special person, that he’s different than anyone else. You can’t fake it. You’re born with what he has, the way he treats people.”

Nowadays, it’s understandable that young players would place Crosby on a pedestal. He’s not only one of the greatest players of all time, but he also treats them as equals.

What might be more noteworthy is that, even when Crosby was essentially a child, he had the respect of his locker room from the beginning.

“He was 22 when I signed in Pittsburgh,” Mike Rupp said. “He’s the best player in the world, this hotshot that everyone is talking about. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. … I could tell you so many nice stories about Sidney Crosby, and they’re all true. But what I realized right away was that, more than anything, Sid didn’t want to be treated differently than anyone else.

Given who he is, Crosby can’t possibly be one of the guys. It doesn’t work that way. He’s Crosby.

And yet, he is one of the guys.

“He just wanted to have fun. Wanted to play mini-golf on the road. He had that little kid smile. He wanted to play the handheld video games on planes,” Rupp said. “He likes to be one of the guys. I think what I’m saying is, he’s not a nerd. He’s not an introvert. But he wants nothing to do with the spotlight because he’s so damn humble. He’s the ultimate captain.”

When you’re a superstar in Pittsburgh, you have certain privileges. Lemieux and Jagr had their share of coaches fired. Some were certainly deserving, of course. But Crosby would never do such a thing. It simply isn’t his way.

He doesn’t demand his friends play with the Penguins. This, in no way, is a typical superstar.

“I was Sid’s GM for a long time,” Rutherford said. “And I can tell you, he never once complained to me about anything. He never once told me to fire anyone, or to trade anyone, or to get anyone in a trade. Never.”

Not until he was asked, anyway.

“Here’s how much respect I have for Sid,” Rutherford said. “At the end of each season, whether we had won the Cup or not, he and I would get together. I wanted his thoughts on certain players on the team and around the league. But he’d never tell me to get someone. He’d never be pushy or demanding. I’d ask him questions about people, and he would answer in his own very polite, very special way. That’s just the kind of man he is.”

Those who coached Crosby often had similar stories.

“He was a dream to coach,” Recchi said. “His relationship with Sully, you know, it’s really special. Those two have a bond. But for all of us on the staff, it was incredible coaching Sid. He asks you lots of questions. He wants your opinion. He’s not going to walk into your office and tell you what to do, or tell you what’s wrong. He asks so many questions and he loves feedback. Not many stars are going to be quite like that.”

Crosby has stated that he’d like to play for a few more seasons, perhaps until he is 40.

It’s unknown precisely when he will walk away or what he will do with his life once he hangs up his skates. Many in the hockey world hope Crosby will remain involved with the NHL in some capacity.

The hockey world, after all, couldn’t possibly be the same without him.

“He just makes you smile when you see him,” Rupp said.

Crosby entered our lives more than two decades ago, a child then. A man now.

A very, very good man.

“He’s just a nice person,” Steigerwald said. “A nice, nice person. The best of the best.”

#the athletic #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins #nhl

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