I didn't want this to turn into just a Pittsburgh Penguins blog, but since the big hockey news just happens to be coming out of Pittsburgh, you can bet that I'll have something to say about it.New Coach Michel Therrien has announced this afternoon that rookie phenom Sid Crosby will be the new assistant captain to the Pittsburgh Penguins when they take on the Buffalo Sabres this weekend. Through his broken English and French accent, Coach Therrien said:
"I really believe this is a new beginning for our team," Therrien said. "He is one of our best players. I am not afraid to give him - I don't think it'’s pressure because, eventually, it'’s going to be Sidney'’s team. Sid has some good veterans to work with. He has Mario [Lemieux], Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Lyle Odelein. We have a core group, but I want Sid to learn from those guys. He is a young kid, but sometimes a young kid has good, new ideas."This move just solidifies the idea that this is Crosby's team. Crosby responds to the honor in this way:
"It'’s great for the coach to show that I have that responsibility. I feel pretty honored," Crosby said. "I take it pretty seriously. I will try to do a good job making sure I show leadership."Did you count how many "I"s were used in those quotations? This concerns me. It's not his typical wash of ready made media clip cliches. And certainly what boggles the mind is that the Official Penguins Website published this.
"It'’s something that'’s nice to have. It'’s a challenge and motivates you that much more. I am more than happy to have it."
Mario Lemieux will continue to wear the "C" while the other assistant "A" will be Mark Recchi.
[Via: Pittsburgh Penguins Official Site]
4 comments:
Tremendous post and an even better site. I have added it to my bookmarks and will definitely back. Hope you don't mind if I link to your article in a recent post we did about Sidney getting the "A".
Great Work Again
Michael
www.fantasysportstrades.com
HEY! Michael. It is fantastic to read your blog, knowing you're following this situation so close. I watched two big Pens games on Tivo. They were the games from OLN which preceded the huge shakeup. In retrospect, you can see what was getting the team upset with the coach.
However Sidney is a young guy and he really, really threw his weight around on this one. Your post matched my thoughts. What will happen next to your big Pens and the little Pens that I follow from afar? Sidney is still a kid. A very talented kid, but a kid.
Nice work.
Michael,
I believe giving the A to Crosby was not only a big, stupid publicity stunt but an insult to veterans on the Penguins who deserve it much more than Crosby does and probably ever will.
The NHL decided over a year ago that they would make pretend Sidney Crosby is the savior of the National Hockey League and force feed him to public. I, for one, have long been sick and tired of "The Crosby Show" and I'm sooooo glad he was left off the Canadian Olympic Team.
Being an 18-year old standout in Junior hockey is far from being even an average player in the NHL but Bettman and his followers will never admit that. How much do you want to bet Crosby wins the Calder this year - not because he deserves it - but because his name is Sidney Crosby?
Thanks for letting me rant about the NHL's biggest annoyance.
- Sharon
Lighten up, Sharon. You sound like a bitter ex-girlfriend or something.
Yes, he came in with hype, but you can't blame him for all that. And while "common sense" dictates that veterans deserve it more, it's not a common situation. Night in and night out, there is no other player on the Penguins as passionate or who hustles as much. A leader leads by what he does, not by virtue of age or words, and while Crosby has his flaws, he has earned the "A" more than his older teammates.
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