OT: Sidney Crosby A Legacy that Never Was?
He's a nice kid and means well plus he's incredibly talented and truly is an amazing hockey player but it is looking more and more like we might of seen the last of this young sensation possibly for a long time. Sidney Crosby in his 3rd year in the NHL he went to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals only to lose to Detroit in 6 games. In 2009 a year older and a new Pittsburgh coach (Bylsma) at the head the Penguins without Hossa (then a Red Wing) took on the Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals in a rematch this time the Penguins coming out victorious winning in game 7. It was Crosby's first ever Stanley Cup championship and it looks like it might very well be his last. Memories with team Canada would follow in 2010 after he scored the winning goal that gave the Canadian team a gold medal victory in overtime. Since his concussion in the Winter Classic Crosby has been in and out of treatment for his head injury. A season went by without him playing a game for the Pens last year and it appears that with his symptoms acting up it might be even longer before he returns. He may never play in the NHL again. Young and talented he now faces the worst fear a young athlete can imagine. "Am I done already?" With Crosby being out indefinitely once again it seems the ghost of Lemieux's fate has returned to the Penguins.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:49 AM ^
Needs moar line breaks
December 13th, 2011 at 12:56 AM ^
I see your Sidney Crosby, and raise you Greg Oden from the Portland Trailblazer media day:
It happens.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:12 AM ^
Crosby was a champion at the highest levels of his sport. He's young and has so many more years and championships to offer if he can stay healthy. Greg Oden has done nothing.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:35 AM ^
crosby also wasn't 35 when he turned pro
December 13th, 2011 at 2:57 AM ^
As much as Oden's story sucks, I'll take blowing out my knee over concussion symptoms that don't seem to go away. A bad knee doesn't really have the same potential to ruin quality of life that a concussion does.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:25 AM ^
Eh... I'd take neither.
Knee injuries and replacements and ongoing surgeries are not at all high on the quality of life scale.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:28 AM ^
True neither is fun or great, but losing the abiltiy to think straight or perhaps even talk without slurring words trumps a painful limp, every single time.
December 13th, 2011 at 10:22 AM ^
World's Longest Crutches.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:55 AM ^
I feel for the guy - as much as I hated him (as a sports fan) for beating the Wings and beating America, it is a shame we may not see more of him.
But that said, he did win a Cup, lose another one in six games, and scored the gold-medal winning goal - in Vancouver no less. He will be remembered. Sure, there'll always be a "but if he could've stayed healthy" aspect to it. But at the end of the day, he did a lot in his career. Even if it was only 3 years.
December 13th, 2011 at 12:57 AM ^
I personally didn't hate Crosby, but having players that are hated is always good for the league. Also it's always sad to see a player be forced out for something like this. Love him or hate him he was a great player and he was great for the league. Really sad.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:05 AM ^
I am a huge Red Wings fan, but it would be terribly sad to see Sidney Crosby retire this early. Whether he is treated as the hero or the villain, the man is one of the best to lace up the skates in the last 15+ years. I hope the best for him and his recovery. I think it's early to say that he'll retire, but this sure looks like something that could hang over him the rest of his career. Also, minor note, his rookie year was 2005-2006 coming off the NHL lockout. He went to the Cup Final in his 3rd year 2008 and lost and then won it in his 4th year in 2009.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:22 AM ^
December 13th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
Yeah, I said one of the best implying there are others even I would rank above him. Yzerman, Lemieux, Gretzky etc. were all in the last 15+ years. Sid is a great player and could reach that type of pantheon if he can go on to have a prolonged career.
I agree with everything you said about Lidstrom. One of the best. Ever.
EDIT: You are quick sir. Cheers. Go Wings.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:44 PM ^
I was going to get even more nitpicky, saying that Yzerman was playing some damn good hockey in 1996-1997 (I turned seven in 12/96) because that's when I first became a big fan of his, but I had forgotten just how good his statistics were before then. It's kind of hard to stay near your peak when that peak is a six year stretch including 732 regular season points.
Long story short, thanks for getting me to go back and look at Yzerman before I was born/had memories of hockey and getting me to take a minute to appreciate just how good he was, and for so long.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:05 AM ^
Will ALWAYS be a legend in Canada. Rock my Olympic Crosby jersey till this day.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:06 AM ^
He will be back in a month... there is no way his career is over. He is 24 and is just entering his prime. His career stats wont look as impressive but with the penguins roster there is a very good chance he makes it back to the stanely cup for many years to come.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:11 AM ^
Age has nothing to do with it. He has been out of action for the better part of a year with concussion like symptoms. Another concussion, which in hockey is likely, could mean permanent disability or worse. Concussions are nothing to mess around with. The man has made millions and should be financial set for life even if he does have to hang em up. I hope he gathers all the information he possibly can and makes an educated decision. This is not a time to let your passion for the game get the best of you.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:22 AM ^
This. A million times, this.
Concussions need to be treated MORE seriously than they are. You can be a tremendous athlete; doesn't matter, your brain is just as soft and squishy as everyone else's.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:13 AM ^
I'm sure Marc Savard felt the same way.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:57 AM ^
The Marc Savard situation was much different than this.. The hit was more vicious and he was actually knocked on conscious. He was 34 and had 14 seasons of experiencing the hard hitting NHL. Also, I am fairly certain Savard had a previous history of concussions before the Matt Cooke hit.
With Crosby, I really havent seen him hit his head to a point where i think his career is over. He isnt going to be Eric Lindros or someone like that because the hits he has taken have been so minor and definitely not career ending. Imho...
December 13th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
Any hit that results in a concussion is not minor. It does not matter how the hit looked, it matters that it resulted in a brain injury, which sure as hell could end his career.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:42 PM ^
All i was saying is there are different severities of concussions... Savard's was horrible (knocked unconscious) Crosby's on the other head not that bad in scheme of concussions... Definitely not a career threating one, thats for sure.
I'm not trying to downplay concussions and their effects on athletes im just saying this entire thread is jumping the gun in saying Crosby is done. He will be back.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^
For whatever reason, he is taking longer to recover from the concussion (or concussions if he got another in the lightning game after the winter classic). Mario Lemieux was the best player in the league, and he was forced to retire because of injuries. But you know what, he took a few years and got himself healthy, and he made a comeback. Even if it takes something that drastic, there is no way that Sid ends his career because of one concussion. He just loves the game too much.
December 13th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
I don't think Savard had a previous history of concussions. The Cooke hit started his downward spiral (unfortunately). He tried to come back too soon in the Philly series, but suffered from PCS in the Summer. Then Matt Hunwick pretty much ended Savard's career in his next comeback. I haven't really heard about Savard trying to come back again. He hasn't officially retired. However, I feel like he's realized that it's more important to spend time with family. He has two kids and he's had a chance to spend time with both of them.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:54 AM ^
People in this thread seem to be jumping the gun and assuming retirement. Crosby is a very young man. And also the greatest player in his sport right now. For him to completely up and retire would really shock me.
Did something more happen that I don't know about? The last I heard he was only going to sit out a couple to a few games just for precautions.
December 13th, 2011 at 11:21 AM ^
He's out indefinitely from a recurrence of concussion symptoms. Announced yesterday.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:13 AM ^
As a beloved Red Wing, Detroit, and USA sports fan; I have never been a big fan of Sid the Kid, for obvious reasons. However, it's sad to see such a talented kid have problems like this. He is not the first one with this much talent to have serious problems. I hope he finds his way back on the ice and can have a successful career. GO WINGS!
December 13th, 2011 at 1:13 AM ^
As a beloved Red Wing, Detroit, and USA sports fan; I have never been a big fan of Sid the Kid, for obvious reasons. However, it's sad to see such a talented kid have problems like this. He is not the first one with this much talent to have serious problems. I hope he finds his way back on the ice and can have a successful career. GO WINGS!
December 13th, 2011 at 1:17 AM ^
Hate him, despise him, cant stand him, he is an embarassment to hockey. HOWEVA, sad to see someone with so much talent/promise struggle with an injury like he has. I dont wish misfortune on anyone, regardless of my feelings about that person, I wish him a full and speedy recovery.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:19 AM ^
December 13th, 2011 at 1:29 AM ^
'05-'06 was his rookie season.
And even if he's going to share 66's "fate" he'll win a few Rosses, Harts, Conn Smythes, and at least one more Cup before he's done.
December 13th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
Who said it was?
December 13th, 2011 at 2:14 AM ^
with him. Remember Eric Lindros, that guy was going to be the next great one.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:49 AM ^
pitt == university of pittsburgh
pittsburgh or pgh == the city of pittsburgh
December 13th, 2011 at 2:55 AM ^
Ugh, the career Lindros should have had is scary to think about, that Flyer staff treated him so incredibly poorly. It's ridiculous how often the quality of life for players after their career used to be risked without second thought.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:26 AM ^
Also, he played in a different time. D-men (Scott Stevens) were allowed to just about kill people in open ice.
December 13th, 2011 at 7:38 AM ^
The flyer staff (including Clarke) was afwul to Lindros late in his career. However remember that Lindros' little bro retired a few years earlier (before Eric suffered that bad string of concussions) after a short career due to post concussion syndrome. Knowing that, Eric probably should hvae been more careful with his return following his "1st" concussion in 98/99.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:37 AM ^
Really sad story. It feels like we're watching a depressing 30 for 30 in real time. Hopefully this one has a happy ending.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:44 AM ^
Crosby has already said that he is NOT back yo square one, passed the ImPACT test to see if he is concussed, and just being very caution with having symptoms.
He'll be back sooner rather than later, they just aren't sure when.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:30 AM ^
The NHL may have to start looking at some of these hits a bit more closely, such as what the NFL has done with defensely receivers making a reception. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to enforce, but the life long impact to some of the players is downright scary.
December 13th, 2011 at 7:34 AM ^
The NHL has been looking at it for the past few years and has made a few changes to the rulebook to help take out the blindside hits. However, most (myself included) think they need to do more.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:12 PM ^
The NHL is absolutely cracking down on ANY hit to the head, intentional or not. Have you not seen the videos of brendan shanahan suspending (aka Shanabanning) players with well thought out explanations? The NHL is doing this the right way
December 13th, 2011 at 5:43 AM ^
...from the article is that Pittsburgh and Crosby are doing the sensible thing here and not exacerbating the problem. One concussion is bad enough obviously, but two more than likely would put him out of the game in addition to potentially causing serious problems, so I don't blame them for the caution at all.
Still, it would be a shame if someone this young had to quit the game early due to injuries. Whether you're a fan of Pittsburgh or not, you would be wondering what could have been, but hopefully in this case, he can return at some point. The Wings need another shot at Pittsburgh, I think.
December 13th, 2011 at 6:20 AM ^
" A season went by without him playing a game for the Pens last year "
Wait, what? No it didn't. He got knocked out a game after the Winter Classic last year.
December 13th, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
You're correct, but basically he was out for an entire season (he missed about 70 games), which is the point that was trying to be made (just stated incorrectly). They would have been better served to have said "a year went by without him playing a game for the Pens."
December 13th, 2011 at 6:35 AM ^
he's a fool if he continues to play. He's got enough money for lifetime security if he manages it prudently. It's not like Crosby would be the first player in history to retire at an early age; football players sustain serious knee injuries and have to retire every year.
December 13th, 2011 at 1:41 PM ^
Not to mention the coaching/instructing opportunities. Parents would be willing to shell out huge dollars to go to a Sidney Crosby hockey camp. And Crosby seems like an amicable guy (at least off the ice), educated, well-spoken, that such a prospect is easily in his wheelhouse.
December 13th, 2011 at 6:37 AM ^
karma had something to do with this...
December 13th, 2011 at 7:01 AM ^
Just because you are unhappy with the Penguins beating the Wings, don't call Karma. Rotten luck. It happens, but not Karma.
Actually, the number of guys who have a career cut short is pretty high . . . I suppose someone more stat savvy can pull numbers on the average number of years someone is in the league. I'm sure it is closer to five than fifteen.