Sidney Crosby Addresses Speculation; ‘This is Where I Want to Be. I Love it Here’
You want to talk about an interesting little scenario? Get this: As Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was taking care of some annual business Monday, who should drive by, stop briefly, smile, and teasingly call out from his SUV, “What’s going on here?” None other than Mario Lemieux.
Sure, Crosby and Lemieux were in their neck of the Pittsburgh area, Sewickley, but the coincidence or metaphor practically writes itself. Lemieux is the Hall of Fame center and former Penguins owner (and even former Crosby landlord) who spent his entire career with the Penguins. Crosby, going into his 21st NHL season, all with the Penguins, was minutes away from addressing his status and future with the club, which has garnered all sorts of attention and speculation.
We’ll give you Crosby’s thoughts at length, but here’s a bottom-line sneak preview: He sure sounds like he wants to follow Lemieux’s path and finish his Hall of Fame career with the Penguins.
Crosby was part of a contingent of players who made their annual visits to select season ticket holders. With training camp a few days away, he also spoke about the topics everyone wants him to address.
After signing autographs, posing for photos and and chatting with Sewickley resident James Wiltman and a few guests, Crosby, 38, spoke with local reporters for the first time since the offseason began. And what an offseason.
A coaching change, a pending sale of the club, so much angst and speculation surrounding the team after three straight seasons of missing the playoffs. Crosby’s future has been a sizzling topic.
“That’s a lot of things to cover in one answer,” he said. “There’s a lot of narratives out there, and I don’t think a lot of those have come from me.
“This is where I want to be. I love it here. I can’t keep having to answer the same questions over again (just) because of these narratives. If people want to write about that or say that, that’s fine. I can’t really control that.
“Obviously when you lose or there are certain things that happen I think it’s normal for that stuff to come up.”
And it has. Repeatedly. And then came last week, when Crosby’s longtime agent, Pat Brisson, seemed to open the door to the idea that Crosby, who has a no-movement clause in his contract, could ask for a trade at some point, saying, “It’s always a possibility.”
Crosby walked that back some Monday, while offering some understanding as to why Brisson said that.
“I wasn’t (surprised),” Crosby said. “I think Pat knows how much I put into it, how much I love it, how much I want to be in the playoffs. Whether those quotes were taken for what they were or there was a different question that got put into those quotes, I don’t know. I don’t know the back story. Pat and I didn’t have a conversation prior to him talking (about that). I think he knows that it’s difficult when you lose, and I think that there’s probably a part of him that knows that having to answer questions like this time and time again.
“I was asked the same thing last training camp. I was asked the same thing after the season. I’m asked it again (Monday). My stance hasn’t changed, but circumstances have. I get that I have to answer those questions, but I think he knows it’s tough having to go through that, and the losing on top of it. So I guess the unknown or the uncertainty combined with the losing, he probably feels for me a little bit, but I’m not sitting here looking for anyone to feel sorry for me. That’s the circumstances. I’m more than happy to address it, but there’s a ton of narratives out there that didn’t come from me. So it’s kind of hard to keep answering questions about all these hypothetical situations that didn’t necessarily come from me.”
One of the things that has fans and media speculating about Crosby possibly wanting to go to another team for a better chance to chase what would be his fourth Stanley Cup is the Penguins recent playoff drought. Dovetailing with that, there is a popular narrative that the team would be better off in the long run if it missed the playoffs again next spring and gathered more top-end draft picks.
Crosby shot that down. Decidedly.
“It’s professional sports,” he said. “You play to win. That’s how I view it, and you’re not going to convince me otherwise. If you’re one of those people that believe that, then you’re entitled to believe that, but that’s not why I signed up to play the game. That’s not the game that I know.
“If you want to look at it that way, I guess you can. That’s one perspective. But that’s not really one that resonates with me. It’s kind of hard to understand.”
On Malkin’s Status
Crosby’s longtime fellow center, Evgeni Malkin, 39, is entering the final season of his contract. There has been a lot of speculation about whether Malkin will retire, or perhaps go play in his native Russia. Crosby doesn’t know the answer, even with Malkin back in town for informal pre-training camp skates.
“It’s not something that’s really come up,” Crosby said. “I didn’t see him all summer. It’s nice to catch up a little bit. We didn’t go into contract talk.
“His last contract (extension), that was something that was decided last minute, too, and it wasn’t something we talked a lot about that year. … Especially when you’re at this point, there are so many things that factor into your decision. As a teammate, as a friend, you’re there to support him, but I think you kind of let things kind of play out and see what happens there.”
On Fleury’s Return
Of course, Crosby is thrilled that former long-time teammate and Penguins core player Marc-Andre Fleury will forestall his recent retirement just long enough to play a period with his original team in a preseason game Sept. 27.
He’s just not sure if he should take Fleury at his word that this is finally it, given that there were goodbyes the last time the Penguins played in Minnesota, where Fleury finished his career, and then at the World Championships.
“It’s great,” Crosby said, and then he smiled. “I feel like I’ve had three or four ‘lasts’ almost. Just when I think it’s been the last, another thing happens.
“It’s a good thing. I thought in Minnesota, that was going to be the last time. And then at Worlds together. I remember after that loss in the Denmark game I was sitting there with him, and I thought that was the last time I was going to be in the (locker) room with him. Now he’s in the preseason.
“So I don’t know what’s next, but happy that he’s going to come back and he’s going to have a pretty special welcoming. I know what he means to the city, what he means to us in the organization. It’s going to be really cool to see that and be a part of it.”
Team defensive play was a problem at times last season, but Crosby smiled again and noted that “I would think it’s going to be a pretty committed defensive group, trying to make sure that we help him out. … If anything, it’s going to be entertaining.”
On Dan Muse
With Mike Sullivan’s departure and Dan Muse taking over as coach after last season, Crosby sees some opportunity for a fruitful training camp.
“Starting fresh from the start of the year, I think that’s probably great for everyone, to have training camp and go through expectations as far as systems and structure, having time to go through that,” Crosby said.
“There’s always going to be an adjustment period for everyone, but he seems like a great guy and really passionate and eager to get going, which is good.”
Crosby has not yet gotten to know Muse well.
“I’ve had a few conversations with him,” Crosby said. “He seems really passionate. I’ve seen him really early at the rink, and really late. He’s at the rink a lot. Spends a lot of time in preparation.”
(this really is part 2:)
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