Why Sidney Crosby Still Has a Lot to Learn to Be Considered “Great”

“The Next One” has finally won his Stanley Cup and at just 21 years old, is the youngest captain in NHL history to do so.

Now before you all chew me out and tell me I don’t know the first thing about hockey, let me clarify: Crosby is an excellent player and is one of the top five players in the world, without a doubt. He has incredible speed, an uncanny passing ability and his hockey sense, the best quality of them all, is arguably the best in the NHL.

But Sidney Crosby is far from a role model for young players. In fact, he is probably in the top five of captains I would not want my kid to take after (for now). The main reason for this is that he still acts very immature, considering he is on the international stage as the “Face of Hockey” or the “Face of the NHL.” It’s not one big thing that contributes to it. Rather, it is a series of minor, little things.

And isn’t it the small stuff that counts?

Now for a 21-year-old, it is a huge responsibility to “save” a sport and a franchise; one of which he has already done by winning the Stanley Cup and almost guaranteeing a profit for the Penguins for the next decade.

But when that face is thrust upon you, whether consensually or not, it is the responsibility of the person to deal with it in the best way possible, this being a mature, role model-like way of behavior.

Let’s take a stroll through memory lane – at least the recent memories, that is. Remember that whole chaotic, big deal the media made about Crosby not shaking hands with Nicklas Lidstrom after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final? Well, contrary to popular belief, it really was not a big deal. But it is indeed something to remember.

If you watch the video (which, I’ll admit, I have watched about a thousand times, because I love watching teams celebrate a Cup victory), you’ll see that every member of the players and coaching staff are in the line to shake hands, while Crosby is talking to trainers, owners and whoever else was on the side of the ice.

Now okay, I understand he is celebrating a Stanley Cup. But if Dustin Jeffrey, a guy who didn’t even play in the finals, can skate over to shake hands with some Red Wings, why can’t Sid do the same?

Okay, Penguins fans, you’re red with rage and ready to reach through your computer and strangle me. (Is that any different than normal?). But before you give me an excuse as to why he missed some of the handshake line, let me give you another example from the same night.

When Crosby finally got to the handshake line, he found himself face-to-face with Coach Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings. Babcock looked Crosby in the face and said, “You played great. That’s great leadership by you.”

Crosby’s response?

A very disheartening mutter of “Thanks,” while looking the other way and skating in the opposite direction. The scene is captured in the article photo (taken from the NBC feed).

Simply watching the scene makes me sick to my stomach.

A Stanley Cup-winning coach and former Jack Adams nominee is saying something extremely heartfelt, yet Crosby treats it like it’s some random fan on the side of Broad Street speaking.

After the scene ends, you can see Babcock in the background walking away with his head down in a sort of shock that he was just disrespected by Crosby.

These are but two examples of the immaturity and lack of leadership that this captain shows for his team.

Once again, he is one of the best players in the world. But he has much to learn about being the captain of an NHL and a Stanley Cup-winning team if he hopes to gain the respect of teammates, opponents and fans across the globe, he needs to clean up his act and realize that millions of children look up to him. What does this teach them?

All I’m saying is that until Crosby starts to be spoken about in the same sentence as Lady Byng, like Gretzky, he will never be talked about in the same way as “The Great One” was.

Okay, now you may chew me out.

Alan Bass is a Senior Writer for Bleacher Report, the Community Leader for the NHL and Philadelphia Flyers’ section, and a writer for TheHockeyNews.com, Prohockeynews.com, Insidehockey.com and Hockey54.com. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.