“Intense as always” Sidney Crosby has a new goal

Sidney Crosby had never been to anyone else’s Stanley Cup party. So, as he joined fellow Nova Scotian and good pal Nathan MacKinnon in partying this summer, Crosby let go. As he recently joked, Crosby was the “fifth drunk person there.”

Are we seeing a relaxed Crosby heading into his 18th NHL season?

Hardly.

“He’s been as intense as ever lately,” said MacKinnon, who has been training with Crosby extensively over the summer breaks.

That intensity was on display Monday morning at the Penguins’ practice facility, where Crosby led practices and set a frenetic pace during one of the final informal player practice sessions before training camp opens on Thursday.

But a few hours later, we saw the relaxed Crosby again, smiling as he pulled up in front of a home in suburban Pittsburgh to deliver a special package to Penguins season ticket holders. He posed for a photo to help the family’s eldest son, the captain of his junior varsity high school club, ask a girl home (She said yes). Crosby later kept a makeshift home-made drawing showing his No. 87 by the youngest daughter in the family. A few signed autographs and pictures later, he set out to deliver another package to another family.

Intense, then relaxed.

On Tuesday, Crosby worked on a different version of the dueling vibes. Again, his day would start leading one of the informal player training sessions at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. After that, he was the star attraction for an annual golf outing with team recruits. That meant putting aside his competitive side, at least a little – he wants to be great at golf – to honor the sponsors.

Intense, then relaxed. Even forgiving.

Perhaps this is the latest version of Crosby, whose importance to penguins remains unmatched after all these years. He remains their greatest asset on and off the ice, a steward of the organization, a leader so treasured by all who receive a check from Fenway Sports Group. Even prospects hoping to play with Crosby, like winger Nathan Legare, can tell just how special Crosby is from afar.

“Sidney Crosby sets the bar pretty high,” Legare said. “All everyone has to do is shop in the same direction. I think when you see the best player working 100 percent every day, you wake up and you want to do the same. He’s the best in the league and he’s the best example you can get.”

The Penguins’ management kept Crosby in the loop during off-season negotiations with longtime teammates and dear friends Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang this summer. Crosby addressed his involvement in those negotiations on Monday, saying he’s “tried to keep up to date with everything,” adding “I don’t want to annoy the lads.”

Still, Penguins and NHL sources reiterated this the athlete that Crosby expressed his feelings to management, that he wanted “Geno and Tangier to stay”, and also that Crosby visited Malkin at his home in Miami to “check on his friend when talks weren’t going too well”. a league source said.

Everything worked out. The big three of penguins are together. GM Ron Hextall decided to bring back the so-called gang (with a few new additions on defense) for another shot at a fourth Stanley Cup title that Crosby has won since his consecutive Championship/Conn Smythe breakout in 2016 escaped 2017.

Crosby snuck in a World Cup of Hockey/Most Outstanding Player achievement between those cup runs with the Penguins to cement his place as the undisputed player of his generation. He was in his late 20s then. Now 35, he’s no longer considered the best hockey player in the world — or even the most sought-after.

He, as he always does when he’s healthy, attended the NHL’s annual media summit in Las Vegas last week. However, he was not the sun around which the event revolved. In fact, Crosby was able to dispense with interviews with national print and online reporters and leave that task to the likes of Avalanche’s MacKinnon, Oilers’ Connor McDavid, and others. And when these others were polled about who the best player in the game was, Crosby wasn’t picked; In fact, only one player voted him the No. 2 player in the NHL.

A little? nope

That Crosby is even talked about after 17 grueling seasons is a testament to his talent, drive and historic greatness. On the other hand, he’s still very proud, and former Penguins teammate Ryan Malone suspects Crosby hears when people say the elite of a younger generation – led by the Maple Leafs’ McDavid, MacKinnon and Auston Matthews – have surpassed him Has.

“I promise you he doesn’t think that,” Malone said.

Neither does MacKinnon, the NHL player outside of Pittsburgh who knows Crosby best. During his cup day and also their training sessions, MacKinnon picked up a freshness for Crosby.

“I think he’s at a new chapter in his career,” MacKinnon said. “He wants to play at an elite level for as long as possible and that’s the new challenge for him…which is pretty cool.

“Sid had such a great season last year that maybe he should have been in for the MVP as well. Of course the points and stuff weren’t that high, but everything he brings to the game – everything – I don’t think there’s another man I want on my team.

The good people of Pittsburgh needn’t worry. Crosby has three years left on his current contract. He said The Athletics Josh Yohe wants to play another six seasons and has publicly stated that he wants to retire from the Penguins.

As this past summer has shown, Crosby’s wishes are the penguins’ command.

What else does Crosby want? Well, at MacKinnon’s party, Crosby couldn’t help but notice something that’s gone from his life.

“It just brings back memories,” he said of the visit with Lord Stanley’s silver goblet. “The parties. The experiences. And everything you go through when you win.

“I think it’s a good reminder of how much it brings people together. You see (MacKinnon’s) family and friends and, you know, the people who are a part of it… if you’re kind of on the other side of the party. And that was cool to see.

“And that’s something that motivates you to want to do it again.”

— The athlete‘s Sean Gentille contributed to this story

(Top Photo: Charles LeClaire/USA Today)