Opinion: Admiring Sidney Crosby

As someone who grew up rooting for the New York Rangers, it was seldom that I had favorite players on other NHL clubs.

My favorite player of all time is/was Rangers great Mike Richter. I also enjoyed watching players like Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, Mark Messier, Alexei Kovalev, and several others.

Nowadays, I consider myself a hockey guy first. As such, I have come to admire many other NHLers.

With all of that out of the way, I am here to tell you that I am a big fan of Pittsburgh Penguins franchise player Sidney Crosby. I am sure that Blueshirts fans are going to hate me for saying that, and while I will certainly understand why, I am here to tell them that as a hockey player, there is so much to love about Crosby.

For starters, I am in awe of his consistency. It does not matter his age or how many games he plays, but the guy knows how to produce. A good example is what Crosby, 36, is doing this season. He is currently second on the Penguins in points with 34 points in 31 games on 19 goals (leads the team) and 15 assists.

Here is Crosby, one of the oldest guys on his team, being second on the team in scoring and leading the team in goals. Heck, without his strong play so far, the Penguins might be in a worse position than they are right now, which is seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 21st in the league.

Speaking of producing and aging like a fine wine, Crosby has 1,536 points (currently 13th all-time) in 1,221 games. He is still producing at a point-per-game pace,and if he can stay healthy, his production will continue to be consistent.

Secondly, it is amazing the amount of hardware this player has. Let us take a look and marvel at the below Crosby factoids:

• Three Stanley Cups (2009, 2016, and 2017)
• Two Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer (2006-07 and 2013-14)
• Two Conn Smythe Trophies as the league’s most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs (2015-16 and 2016-17)
• Two Hart Memorial Trophies as the league’s most valuable player during the regular season (2006-07 and 2013-14)
• Two Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies as the league’s top goal scorer during the regular season (2009-10 and 2016-17)
• Three Ted Lindsay Awards as the league’s most valuable player as voted by the players (2006-07, 2012-13, and 2013-14)
• Mark Messier Leadership Award, which is given to a player that Messier recognizes to be a superior leader within hockey and as a contributing member of society. (2009-10)

Lastly, I have always admired his leadership. Not only has he captained the Penguins to three Cups, but he is someone who leads by example on and off the ice every single season.

Crosby works hard every single game, he never complains, and he is always ready to speak to the media when things are not going well whether it is for him or his team in general. He is a standup NHLer in every sense of the word.

Simply put, I think Crosby represents everything great about the sport of hockey. From producing to winning and leading by example, I have always looked at Crosby as the perfect hockey player.