Breakaway on SI

Sidney Crosby Not at 100% for Team Canada

Team Canada may have Sidney Crosby in their lineup, but it's possible he's still recovering from an upper-body injury.

Nick Horwat

Feb 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) reacts after suffering an apparent injury against the New Jersey Devils during the third period Crosby would return later in the period. at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Feb 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) reacts after suffering an apparent injury against the New Jersey Devils during the third period Crosby would return later in the period. at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
In this story:

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby confirmed multiple times that he is good to go for Team Canada in their opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Team Sweden. Despite missing the final two games before the break with the Penguins with an upper-body injury, Crosby is ready to represent his country as Canada’s captain at the 4 Nations.

While Crosby may be active and in the lineup, Team Canada likely isn’t getting him at his best. According to the Athletic’s Josh Yohe, there is no way Crosby is playing at full health.

“I don’t think he’s 100%,” Yohe said on Kaboly and Mack. “He presumably is feeling much better than than he was last week. He wasn’t well enough to play in Philly and New York, I promise you there was something wrong if he couldn’t play in those games. Those are two games that he always gets up for.”

Despite not playing against the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers, Crosby continued to practice on his own to keep himself as up to speed as possible. He even skated during Team Canada’s first two practices and shared a line with good friend Nathan MacKinnon.

Yohe noted that he kept an eye on Crosby during one of his solo practice sessions, and it was clear something is off.

“He was one the ice by himself for 45 minutes,” Yohe said. “He took four shots. And the four wrist shots he took looked like wrist shots I would have taken. There was no velocity at all.”

The last time Crosby played was over a week ago against the New Jersey Devils. Crosby got his arm tangled up between a pair of Devils players, and while he left the ice briefly, he returned to finish the game.

Even though Crosby finished the game and continued to practice, there still might be something lingering.

“It looked uncomfortable for him,” Yohe said.  “Clearly something wrong… There’s something going on there.”

Reports from Canada’s practices have indicated that Crosby appears to be more comfortable and shooting the puck with more power, but there is still some reasonable uncertainty.

Elliotte Friedman, Kyle Bukauskas, Michael Russo, and David Amber all noted on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that Crosby has spoken with the media multiple times ahead of Team Canada’s tournament opener, and he has not taken his hands out of his pockets.

Not only is Crosby not taking his hands out of his pockets around the media, but he isn’t wearing any sort of extra padding or medical device on his arm or wrist.

Friedman noted that there was some time that it seemed uncertain that he would be able to play, but with puck drop right around the corner, Crosby seems ready to go. He may not be at 100%, but Crosby is willing to fight though some pain to represent his country.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Published
Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

Nick Horwat is a contributor with Breakaway On SI. He was previously a credentialed reporter for The Hockey News covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A Pittsburgh native, Nick graduated from Point Park University and started reporting on news and sports with KDKA Radio and 93.7 The Fan. After hosting a Penguins talk radio show in college, he morphed the show into a podcast. The Tip of the Ice-Burgh Podcast has been a leading Penguins podcast since 2019. Follow him on Twitter @NickHorwat41.

Home/News Feed Page