Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Remembering the most ICONIC Sidney Crosby moments on his birthday!

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's not a national holiday, but it should be. August 7th is Sydney Crosby Day. The Penguins captain turns 39 today. And we're going to talk about his legacy both in Pittsburgh and in hockey on the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. You're locked on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:40 I am your host, Patrick Damp. You can find me on most social media platforms at Synonym 4Wet. Make sure you're also following the show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins, as well as TikTok at Locked-on Penguins. Hunter, he is off at yet another wedding because he is still at that age where everyone is getting married. So I am by myself on this very rainy and stormy Friday in the city of Pittsburgh. Today, we are going to share some fantastic, memorable Sidney Crosby moments from his illustrious career thus far, as well as remember some oddly specific moments from the more than two decades we have spent with Sidney Crosby.

Starting point is 00:01:31 But before we get into that, again, it is one of the most wonderful days of the year. The day that Sidney Patrick Crosby was brought into this world, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, the Penguins franchise leader in points, and for my money, a top five player of all time in the history of the National Hockey League, if not the entire sport itself. So let's begin the show with just that. We know all about his accolades, his achievements, the statistics, everything he has done since he came into the league in 2005. But there is an underrated part of his legacy as a Pittsburgh penguin that I wanted to touch on first and foremost. When this season begins on September 30th, assuming Crosby doesn't suddenly get hurt and has to end his career, God forbid, during training camp, even if he does get hurt during training camp and comes back in the season and plays at least a game, that will be his 22nd season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. and by doing that, he will become the longest tenured athlete, pro athlete, I should say, in Pittsburgh sports history.

Starting point is 00:03:08 Right behind him with 21 are pirates, I should say, excuse me, legend Willie Stargill with 21, Fgeny Malkin and Chris LaTang with 21 as well, Roberto Clemente with 18, Honest Wagner with 18, Ben Rothesberger with 18, Mario Lemieux, Bill Maseroski, Pi Traynor, and so many others played 17 seasons for Pittsburgh professional teams. But I look at it this way. And our pal who has been on the show multiple times, Josh Yohe has brought this up and he wrote about this today in the athletic as well, that when you, do the Mount Rushmore, so to speak, of Pittsburgh sports. You know Mario Lemieux is on that. You know that Roberto Clemente is definitely on that Mount Rushmore of all-time greats in the city of Pittsburgh. Obviously, at this point, Sidney Crosby is going to be on that if there were such a thing.

Starting point is 00:04:19 three Stanley Cups. This will be his 22nd season with the Penguins. He's the franchise leader in points. He has put together a career that was so obscenely hyped before he was drafted and even after he was drafted. And he has lived up to all of that hype. He has been exactly as advertised and more. I wrote about this a few weeks back,

Starting point is 00:04:48 might have even been a few months back, but about how Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were tasked with saving the National Hockey League after a season-long lockout in the early 2000s. If you remember back then, the NHL had lost its TV rights deal with ESPN. They were on Outdoor Life Network. Interest in the sport was waning. there was not a lot of good happening in the NHL. And you get these two contrasting stars, the boisterous, eccentric, loud Russian,

Starting point is 00:05:28 and Alex Ovechkin, who needs to score goals like he needs to breathe. And then you have the clean-cut Canadian next one, who is one of, if not the best all-around player to ever play the sport. and they both absolutely delivered with what they needed to deliver with. Nowadays, we look at the NHL, they're back on ESPN. Whether or not you like their coverage is a whole different discussion, but they are back on ESPN. They've got deals with TNT here in the United States. They are on Amazon in Canada.

Starting point is 00:06:05 They have been expanding the league. The TV rights deals are through the roof. the revenue is through the roof. The interest is really starting to increase throughout North America. And a lot of that is thanks to those two. And then I also want to just talk about the standard that Sidney Crosby has set within Pittsburgh. Because you look at the names on the list that I said at the beginning of the segment. Crosby, Stardjel, Clemente, Wagner, Lemieux, Mazorosky. These are all people. who were stars, who set a very high bar for success and for personal conduct. And with everything Sidney Crosby had going for him, especially as a young man coming into the

Starting point is 00:06:56 NHL, it would have been really easy for him to fall into the trappings of superstardom. It would have been really easy for him, even if it didn't go the tragic way where he gets into party in, he gets into being a bit of a degenerate. It would have been easy for him to just be closed off. To be, and I say this in not an insulting way, like Mario Lemieux, where Mario Lemieux was closed off. He was private. He was a hockey player and that was it. He was with the penguins to play hockey, to set records, to win, and that was it.

Starting point is 00:07:33 Yeah, he would be in commercials. Yeah, he would talk to the media, but he was first, foremost, and only a hockey play. You look at what Sidney Crosby has done for the Penguins, for the city, for the community, and it is damn near unmatched. You have the Little Penguins program, which now has assistance from places like Dick's sporting goods, the Penguins themselves, other corporate sponsors. But early on, that was a Sidney Crosby led initiative to help people who want to want to wanted to get into hockey, but may not have been able to afford it.

Starting point is 00:08:15 Because as I can tell you firsthand, it is an extremely expensive sport to get into. The cost to play hockey is pretty extensive. And Sidney Crosby providing that lifeline and that opportunity was just the beginning of all the great things that he has done. He is constantly visiting UPMC Children's Hospital, whether it's during actual publicity events or just on his own. This is something that I didn't want to save for the Fan Take Friday part of the show, but there was a great piece back in 2017 from Jason Mackie when he was still covering the penguins talking about when Sid was going through his concussion

Starting point is 00:09:03 saga. He went on the team trip to Children's Hospital as they do multiple times per year. And he met and bonded with a family while he was there. And one day just decided to go back. No cameras, no video, no media, just Sidney Crosby, a bag of toys in this family. And he spent hours with this family. There was no reason for him to do it other than he just wanted to do it. You put that right up there with the way he works on the ice, the way he conducts himself as a professional, the way he dedicates himself to his craft. And for more than two decades, Sidney Crosby has set a golden standard in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization as well as in the city.

Starting point is 00:10:00 It is everything you could have wanted from someone to represent your city. reminded of the story that I believe it was Gordon Miller with TSN told years ago after the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2016. He goes to a veterans hospital. And this is after he already does a publicity event with the Stanley Cup. He meets with the veterans. He meets with some of the elderly. And he meets with a man who no longer has his sights.

Starting point is 00:10:34 And Crosby goes to his room. introduces himself and the man tells him sorry sid my favorite team is the montreal canadians and sid could have just laughed that off and had pleasantries and said hope you have a good day we'll see you later instead he takes the stanley cup over the man's bed traces his finger over marie richard's name on the stanley cup and has an absolutely heartwarming moment with the man. And that to me is why Sidney Crosby is one of, if not the greatest athlete, to ever represent the city of Pittsburgh. But that is not going to be all. We're going to talk about on an all Sydney Crosby edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. When we come back,

Starting point is 00:11:28 we're going to talk about a few memorable moments that Sidney Crosby has had on the ice during his career as a Pittsburgh penguin, and we will do that when we come back right after this. But first, Locked-on Penguins is brought to you by Fandul. Baseball fans, if you think you know who's going to hit a home run today, Fandul is giving you a free chance to call your shot with daily dingers. It's easy to play. Just make your pick for who you think will hit a home run in their next game.

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Starting point is 00:13:21 myself, I did make sure to get Hunter's opinion on some of the top moments that Sidney Crosby has provided us with in his career. He did share some of those moments, goals, whatnot. But there is one specifically that both of us agreed on. And it's also a moment that has been all over social media today. So I do think it is one of the best places to start when talking about Sydney Crosby's career. And that is the Stanley Cup final in 2017. Game 5 against the Nashville Predators.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Now let's set the scene. The Penguins and Preds are tied at two games apiece. The Penguins win the first two at home, though game one was that infamous no shots on goal game until Jake Gensel breaks the tie. The Penguins then take care of business in game two. And then in Nashville in games three and four, they get blitzed a little bit, maybe not in the traditional way.

Starting point is 00:14:25 They weren't run out of the building. They weren't no-showed, but they did lose those games by a combined score of nine to two. Needless to say, game five at the time, back at PPG Paints Arena was an absolutely massive one. The Preds have taken all of the momentum away from the Penguins, and a loss in game five likely spells the end of the Penguins' back-to-back championship aspirations. From the drop of the puck, Sidney Crosby is on an absolute mission.

Starting point is 00:15:05 He draws a penalty on the first shift of the game, while drawing the penalty, he still gets a quality scoring chance that clangs off the post. And that leads to the first goal of the game. An absolute rocket from defenseman Justin Schultz, who of course Sidney Crosby gets an assist on the goal. Now, one thing I have noticed today, if you are on Twitter, head to J. Fresh. go to his page. He has a three plus minute mix tape of Sidney Crosby in this game. 87 is everywhere in this one.

Starting point is 00:15:51 He's forechecking like a total madman. He owns the puck anytime it is on his stick. He's physical. He's fast. Dare I say it was peak Sydney Crosby. ultimately the penguins win game six or game five excuse me six to nothing they go on to win the stanley cup their second consecutive championship in that game crosbie records three assists but the three assists don't tell the whole tale as i said the penguins were reeling a little bit

Starting point is 00:16:31 in that game and in that final overall they were starting to run out of gas a little bit. It was their eighth straight playoff series. They were tired. They were tied in a series that up to that point wasn't totally going their way. They were lucky to be tied to two, especially after the debacle in game one where they blow a lead. They're not getting shots on net.

Starting point is 00:16:58 They're able to bounce back in game two. But then Nashville and nationwide, not nationwide bridgestone. That's it. Bridgestone Arena was not kind to them. So they're reeling just a little bit at that moment. And in game five, Crosby set the tone immediately, immediately told his teammates without saying it, jump on my back, we are not losing. As my pal Hunter likes to say, it was a vintage Sydney Crosby performance.

Starting point is 00:17:33 keeping it going with playoff moments as the listeners of this very show like to know i am very much one of the people of the belief that in 2016 phil kessel had a case to win the con smythe trophy as the playoff MVP but that said there was a moment where sidney crosbie took over and became the con smyth winner and that was the eastern conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, I'm sure your brain is going immediately to the overtime winner in game two, which somehow was his first playoff overtime winning goal. But the moment I'm thinking of, I want to push all the way ahead to game six in Tampa Bay.

Starting point is 00:18:24 Penguins are up to nothing, but down three, two in the series. And while they're up to nothing in the game, Tampa has started to press. Tampa has started to claw some of the momentum back and with less than 30 seconds to go. Patrick Hornquist swipes the puck off of Tyler Johnson. Crosby collects it and essentially beats four lightning players to slip one past Vasilevsky and make it three nothing penguins. You know the story the rest of the way. The penguins, they're able to beat Tampa.

Starting point is 00:18:59 they go on to win the Stanley Cup in 2016. But in that playoff, the Penguins made pretty quick work of the Rangers in the first round. They had some scares against the Capitals in the second round, but it was a pretty good series by the Penguins. Tampa, however, looked like a team that was on a mission to avenge their loss in the 2015 Stanley Cup final against the Black Hawk. The Penguins were pushed to the brink multiple times by that Tampa team. And when the penguins needed it most in that series, Crosby stepped up, provided the momentum and the moments that they needed the rest of the way to reach the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 2009.

Starting point is 00:19:54 Speaking of 2009, I've got one more playoff moment. to go, let's set the scene once again. Penguins back in the Stanley Cup final after losing in 2008 to the Red Wings in six games. And once again, they're faced with the daunting task of trying to beat one of the modern era's best teams. Everything in 2009 is going the same way as it did in 2008. The Red Wings take games one and two at the old Joe Lewis Arena. The Penguins claw their way to a game three victory at Mellon Arena. The job now, as Phil Bork so eloquently put it in the 2009 Stanley Cup DVD,

Starting point is 00:20:42 was to flip the script and win game four to make it a best of three for the Stanley Cup. At about the halfway mark of the game, just under 10 minutes to go in the second period, the big three of Chris Latang, Evgeny Malkin, and Sidney Crosby find themselves on a fast break. Malkin carries the puck in the zone. Crosby drives the net. Latang is trailing. Gino finds Sid. Sid buries it.

Starting point is 00:21:13 The penguins take a three-two lead. Mellon Arena goes absolutely bonkers. and thanks to a goal from Tyler Kennedy later on in the game, which of course was assisted by Crosby. Penguins flipped the script. They win game four, and as we all know, they go on to win the Stanley Cup

Starting point is 00:21:32 for the first time since 1991. Finally, we just can't mention Sid moments without remembering the comeback goal in 2011. That's right, the welcome back Sid goal. As we all know, the concussion in broken neck saga have been plaguing him since the Winter Classic on New Year's Day.

Starting point is 00:21:59 In the early days of Twitter, we were all refreshing, looking for updates for when he might come back, when he might be back with the team. We even get that bizarre press conference with his doctors where Sid is referred to as a Ferrari, which then spurs countless Photoshop's, on the classic Penns blog website, which if you know, you know, well, on November 21, 2011, with the world watching, Consul Energy Center, Crosby does what only Crosby can do.

Starting point is 00:22:34 An outlet pass from Pascal Dupuy sends him on a break. He leans on Islanders defenseman, Andrew McDonald, and shelves a backhander past goaltender Anders Nilsson. He ultimately finishes the night with two goals and two assists for four points. Sadly, as we know, that comeback would not last very long. He would miss even more games that season, but ultimately by the end, he would be back and back mostly for good and recovered. Yes, he would have other injuries. Yes, he would miss more time. But thankfully, the concussion saga was behind him once and for all. But that is going to do it for this middle segment.

Starting point is 00:23:21 When we come back, we're flipping the show over to you, the listener, as we do every Friday as part of Fan Take Friday. But we've got a little bit of a twist on it. Stay tuned for that. We'll get into it when we come back right after this. Closing out the Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins Patrick Damp flying solo today. and as we always do, the final segment of our Friday shows are dedicated to you, the listener as part of Fan Take Friday.

Starting point is 00:23:58 I put a special spin on today's Fan Take Friday because I just spent the previous segment recalling stories of great Sidney Crosby moments. So instead of just sitting around for another 10 or so minutes, recalling more of those big time moments, I wanted to hear from you about your more oddly specific moments that you remembered about the career of Sidney Crosby up to this point. We all remember the Golden Goal, Game 5 against Nashville, taking his now assistant general manager Jason Spetsa for a ride behind the Senators net in 2010.

Starting point is 00:24:35 But what about those little moments? What about those moments in the dog days of the season or the silly stories and everything else in between. I have to start with a little bit of bias here with the great Adam Gretz who provided this one to me. And if you are not following him on social media, if you are not subscribed to his substack, please hit pause on this episode and go do that right now. During the concussion saga, Gretz recalled to me Crosby was sitting right next to him in the press box and in the second period dear adam knocked over a cup of popcorn and sid looks at him and says that was a full cup of popcorn that sucks and if that does not sum up 87 i'm not sure what does

Starting point is 00:25:32 here's one that i had no idea about this comes from my pal josh banks over on blue sky and someone, whether in the comments, social media, DMs, email, carrier pigeon, if someone knows about this, please confirm it because it's fantastic. Apparently, our Sydney Crosby borrowed 937 the fans, Jim Colony, excuse me, World War II books, and has never returned them. So that is one of the pieces of Sidney Crosby lore that I really enjoy the fact that apparently he is just a massive, gigantic history nerd. So that also tracks for him because you figure he loves hockey.

Starting point is 00:26:20 He's so dedicated to it. He's always into the history of the sport. Why wouldn't he be into the history of the world? That just tracks for Sidney Crosby. Here's one from YouTube, from one of our frequent commenters, another someone on YouTube. And this kind of takes the episode full circle to what I was talking about. in the opening segment about who Sidney Crosby is as a leader, as a person, as the captain of the Penguins.

Starting point is 00:26:49 And that's any time somebody comes to the Penguins, whether it's a draft pick, a signee, a trade. The first call after all of the talks with management and the coaching staff is always from Crosby. He's always the first person to reach out. Hunter and I talked about it after the draft. The videos of the Ruck Twins getting a phone call from Sidney Crosby and the two of them looked like they were going to absolutely lose it. Is the stuff of absolute legend for Sidney Crosby, the fact that he always does that kind of stuff? Here's another one from YouTube from Peter Simpson. And this is a good underrated moment that at this point with everything that has happened over the past few years,

Starting point is 00:27:38 I completely forgot about. Peter says in the Canada versus Finland four nations face off game, Canada was up for nothing going into the third period. Then Finland scores three unanswered goals late in the third, including two from Granland. Then with one minute left in Finland's goalie pulled, Crosby crushes Granlin with a hit at center ice. Reinhardt chips the puck back over to Crosby,

Starting point is 00:28:02 who while getting back up, settles the puck with his hand and pots it into the empty net all in one. motion. It's those little things that Sid often does because that also reminds me, I believe it was the 2010 season. He had a goal against the New Jersey Devils where he took a pass off his back foot and in one motion kicked it back to his stick and then went into score, which one of those things that only 87 can do, it's just those little things around the margins of the game that he does so well. Yes, he's got great puck control.

Starting point is 00:28:41 He's got great edges. He has vision like nobody's ever seen, but he does all these little fundamental things so well that make him such a complete player that are absolutely incredible. Here's another one from YouTube from Jordan Gillis, not underrated, but Crosby baking chocolate chip or banana bread for his teammates at the start of every season. That one, always a fantastic one.

Starting point is 00:29:12 Keeping it moving in, keep it moving here. This is one that I genuinely love. This also comes from Blue Sky from Everybody Loves IJ. He brings up a game on January 19th, 2020, against the Bruins, with the Penguins trailing 3 to 1. Just after a penalty kill, our dear old friend, Teddy Bluger, scores a goal off a no look between the legs, backhand assist from Sidney Crosby. Again, one of those little things that he is just so good at that you just come,

Starting point is 00:29:52 I don't want to say to forget, because we never forget it. But you almost take it for granted. He just does these little incredible things that you look at it and go, ho-hum, there's Sid doing it once again. I want to end with this one because it's a funny one and it makes me laugh. And if you've seen it, you've seen it. If you haven't, it is definitely somewhere on YouTube. This comes from Zoe on Blue Sky who says,

Starting point is 00:30:20 I'll never forget him singing slow motion by juvenile while miced up. If I recall correctly, this I think is from the 2008, playoff run and they were also doing a Crosby documentary that year. And the part of the segment was them kind of talking about how at the time, he's a 20-year-old kid. He's still maybe at this point already the best player in hockey, maybe the best player in the NHL. But with all of that hype, with all those expectations,

Starting point is 00:31:00 he's still just a 20-year-old kid. and they're in the middle of practice, goofing off, having a good time. And here's 20-year-old Sidney Crosby. For some reason, in the middle of practice, just singing slow motion. But to end the show, we'll say this. We have been damn lucky to have Sidney Crosby as our captain for these last 20 years, having him as a penguin for these last 22 years. And here's the hoping he can play quite a few more years.

Starting point is 00:31:32 and provide us with some more memories. But that is going to do it for the Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode for you on Monday, talking more about the season ahead and any news that might happen over the weekend. But for the absent Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. We will be back on Monday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Remembering the most ICONIC Sidney Crosby moments on his birthday!

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