There he was, the aw-shucks kid from Cole Harbour, N.S., celebrating another championship moment a dozen days ago, this time with his Canadian teammates at the Air Canada Centre.
Sidney Crosby was at the top of his game, once again. His latest golden moment capped off a remarkable 31-month ride in which he won 2014 Olympic gold in Sochi, the 2015 IIHF World Championship, the Stanley Cup last spring and now the World Cup of Hockey title.
The 29-year-old Crosby was the easy choice as tournament MVP, and with the honour joined Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky as the only players to win the Conn Smythe, Hart Trophy and Canada Cup/World Cup MVP awards.
The Pittsburgh Penguins did the right thing and gave their captain some well-deserved time off. He didn’t have to report to training camp until last Tuesday. Two days later, Crosby and the Penguins visited U.S. President Barack Obama and were feted for their Stanley Cup victory at the White House.
The next morning the captain practised for the second time with the Penguins and talked afterwards with reporters about his excitement to play in his only pre-season game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
But Crosby didn’t feel well on Saturday morning and was pulled from the lineup. Still, he attended a Penguins event for their fans on Sunday and was his usual classy self. He talked with fans and satisfied all their autograph requests.
But as his teammates practised on Monday morning Crosby underwent a concussion test and the result came back positive. The team announced he had suffered a concussion in Friday’s practice but did not provide further details.
