On Monday afternoon, Penguins‘ captain Sidney Crosby began his – and the team’s – annual ritual of hand-delivering season tickets to Pittsburgh families.
His first stop was with a family that included several children – including two young kids both donned in 87 jerseys – overjoyed to meet their hero, who didn’t shy away from conversing with them.
To Crosby, this was just another day on the job. Just another starting marker for the upcoming NHL season, which will be his 20th. Just another Monday afternoon.
You’d never know be broke the biggest Penguins’ news of the summer just hours earlier.
In the morning hours on Monday, it was announced by Penguins’ general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas that Crosby had agreed to a two-year, $17.4 million contract extension.
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Although many were expecting him to sign at a higher average annual value (AAV) this time around – especiallly with both the salary cap and player salaries one the rise – it came as no surprise to anyone in Pittsburgh that Crosby’s AAV rang in at the same $8.7 million that is has been for the past 11 years:
There is something so unique about not just Crosby the hockey player, but also Crosby the person.
As for the “hockey player” part? Well, you could go on and on about his stats, his accomplishments, and his knack for winning everything there is to win.
Crosby is currently ranked 10th all-time in points with 1,596, and there’s a good chance he surpasses Joe Sakic (1,641) for ninth by season’s end. He is knocking on the door of the all-time point-per-game seasons record, as he tied Wayne Gretzky at 19 last season and will vie for his 20th.
He has won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, a World Championship, a World Cup, a World Junior Championship, two Hart Trophies, two Art Ross Trophies, three Pearson/Lindsay Awards, two Rocket Richard Trophies… you name something to win in the sport of hockey, he’s probably won it.
Related: BREAKING: Crosby signs two-year contract extension
But that’s not what makes “Sid the Kid” one of the best there’s ever been.
No. What makes him incomparable to anyone else in hockey – and, arguably, anyone else in sports – is his unwaivering commitment to winning and his undying loyalty to the organization that drafted him, the city that molded him, and the people who have supported him over the years.
And Crosby, the man himself, didn’t have enough good things to say about Pittsburgh when asked about…