#35 - Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #35)

Adjusted Stats

2005-2006 Pit         81 GP   40 goals   64 assists   104 points   1.28 PPG
2006-2007 Pit         79 GP   38 goals   90 assists   128 points   1.62 PPG
2007-2008 Pit         53 GP   27 goals   54 assists   81 points     1.54 PPG
2008-2009 Pit*       77 GP   36 goals   76 assists   111 points   1.44 PPG
2009-2010 Pit         81 GP   56 goals   64 assists   119 points   1.48 PPG
2010-2011 Pit         41 GP   36 goals   38 assists   74 points     1.81 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

2006-2007 Pit          5 GP     3 goals     2 assists    6 points       1.14 PPG
2007-2008 Pit          20 GP   6 goals     22 assists  28 points     1.42 PPG
2008-2009 Pit*        24 GP   15 goals   16 assists  32 points     1.32 PPG
2009-2010 Pit          13 GP   6 goals     12 assists  18 points     1.37 PPG

Career - 412 GP, 233 goals, 386 assists, 619 points, 1.50 PPG
Career-Highs - 56 goals (09-10); 90 assists (06-07); 128 points (06-07); 1.81 PPG (10-11)
Avg. (6 seasons) - 69 GP, 39 goals, 64 assists, 103 points, 1.50 PPG

Playoff Career - 62 GP, 30 goals, 52 assists, 84 points, 1.35 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 15 goals (08-09); 22 assists (07-08); 32 points (08-09); 1.42 PPG (07-08)

Accolades - 1 MVP award, 1 Art Ross, 1 Richard
All-Star Teams - 1-time 1st-team, 1-time 2nd-team
1-time Stanley Cup Champion

Too soon to be putting Crosby this high on the list? As Fred Willard's character says in A Mighty Wind...I don't thinkkkkk sooooooo.

Crosby is by far the most likely of this generation's young stars to wind up not only considered one of the ten best players to ever play the game, but possibly expand "the pantheon" (Gretzky, Orr, Howe, Lemieux) to include a fifth player. Or so I would have surely thought until the Winter Classic of January 1, 2011, in which Capitals forward David Steckel (who? Exactly) delivered a viciously cheap elbow to Crosby's head, which, when coupled with Crosby's ill-advised decision to play the next game (thank you, Penguins medical staff), where he suffered another blow from Tampa's Victor Hedman, led to a pretty serious concussion.

Crosby was in the middle of a Pantheon-level season. He was on pace for adjusted numbers of 73 goals and 148 points. A lock for a second MVP award and a second Art Ross, all at the age of 23. And now thanks to a league that has buried its head in the sand for years with regards to headshots, and more importantly hitting players without the puck, Crosby has been robbed of all that.

And you know what? We have all been robbed. Because why do we watch sports? I personally have gotten to the point where I care less and less about which team wins...what I want to see is excellence. To have a chance to see a career like Crosby's from beginning to end develop from hyped youngster to whiny 19 year-old to incredibly mature 21 year-old to champion to Olympic champion to dominant MVP of the league and then debate with friends about where exactly Crosby belonged, and if he belonged in Pantheon discussion, would have been amazing.

We may still get that. But I'm nervous. Concussions are a slippery slope: get one and you may be back within a month. But by the second, and the third, it gets progressively worse. I literally am fighting off a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of Crosby heading down the Eric Lindros path. Crosby doesn't deserve that. We don't deserve that. The NHL...well, they had their star, and they put him in harm's way by ignoring what was staring them in the face. They might deserve it.

But let's put all of these negative thoughts aside, assume Crosby comes back healthy and as productive as ever and never suffers a concussion again. Let's look at the career of a still-young man:

It's worth noting that, through the first four years of his career, Crosby's numbers were a little more mid-to-late career Gretzky (35ish goals, a boatload of assists), prompting some to question whether Crosby would ever be an elite goal-scorer. Well, as if to prove there's nothing he can't do, Crosby responded with 56 adjusted goals in 2009-2010, and as already mentioned he was on his way to 70+ in 10-11.

If Crosby (who, have I mentioned, is only twenty-three!!) puts together a stretch of six or seven healthy years at production rates like 09-10 and 10-11, he's in the pantheon, no question. Mix in another Stanley Cup or two, plus his knack for "big-game" moments ("Sidney Crossssby...the Golden Goallll!), and you've got someone who is muscling aside even his idol Lemieux. We don't know what will happen, but with potentially still another 15-17 years left in his career, Crosby could end up closing in on the 2000 mark for adjusted career points (hell, he might even get there for real-life points). On the other hand, the bottom can fall out pretty fast...see the upcoming entries on players like Peter Forsberg and Eric Lindros (it shouldn't be forgotten that, at his peak, Forsberg was comparably brilliant).

But...is he comparable with Gretzky? Unless he takes a leap like he did from 08-09 to his current level once more, then the answer is probably no. Gretzky had five straight seasons of 160+ adjusted points, Crosby has yet to crack 130 (although, as mentioned, it looked like he'd get to about 140-145 this year until the concussion). There's no shame in not being as great as the Great One, though, and I for one am glad I'm going to be able to witness the progression of what seems like it's destined to be a remarkable career. Just as long as goons like David Steckel stay out of his way.