‘No Brainer’: McDavid on Team Canada Captaincy; Crosby’s Smiling Response

Maybe some people thought the 4 Nations Face-Off in February would be the ideal time for some torch-passing on Team Canada. Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is not in that camp. He likes the old guard when it comes to who should be team captain for that international tournament.

McDavid, whose Oilers host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, was asked Thursday during an interview session about who should wear the “C” for Canada in that tournament. Without hesitation, he pointed to the player who had worn it several times before — Sidney Crosby.

“Should be Sid for sure,” McDavid said of the Penguins star center. “That’s not even a question. It’s just how it should be. He’s Sidney Crosby, and he’s been there so many times. He’s the guy.

“It’s not like I’ve thought about it a lot. It’s just such a no-brainer.”

National teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland will play in the tournament in Boston and Montreal while the NHL takes a break from its schedule.

In the meantime, McDavid and Crosby will be on opposite sides Friday.

It’s always an event when Crosby’s Penguins and McDavid’s Oilers meet in an NHL game. McDavid said the matchup Friday won’t be flavored by the fact that the two of them are expected to be teammates with Team Canada in February.

“I don’t think it will be any different,” McDavid said of Friday’s game. “We still want to win; he still wants to win. That competitive fire will be there.

“But come February, we’ll be teammates, and that will be a great time, too. I’m really looking forward to it. Obviously, to play with Sid, but to play with so many of the guys — Nate (MacKinnon), (Cale) Makar, the list goes on and on of great Canadian players. Really looking forward to that event. All four teams will be really good teams and highly competitive. It’s anyone’s tournament to win.”

Update: Crosby Responds

As one might expect, Crosby accepted McDavid’s comment with a bit of grace and even some self-effacing humor.

“I appreciate that. Being a little bit more experienced, maybe he’s giving me that,” Crosby said with a smile. “He’s obviously a great leader and he’s done so much for the team here and for Canada as well. So, any time you’re looking to wear a letter or whether it’s here in or (to) be part of Team Canada, it’s a great honor regardless.”

Crosby will forever be linked to Team Canada. Just as Paul Henderson scored the country-stopping goal that beat the Russians in the 1972 Summit Series and Gretzky and Lemieux teamed for the late goal to beat Russia in the 1987 Canada Cup, Crosby scored the “Golden Goal,” an overtime winner for Team Canada in overtime of the Gold Medal game vs. Team USA at the Canadian hosted 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Crosby is one of 30 members of the Triple Gold Club, winning the Stanley Cup, a gold medal, and the world championships. Crosby was also the captain of Team Canada’s gold-medal-winning World Juniors team in 2005. Crosby is the only player to captain a team in all of the championships.

*PHN’s Dan Kingerski contributed to this report and wrote the update.