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PITTSBURGH — The measuring stick has always been one player and one player only. Forget that Wayne Gretzky happened to be the most dominant offensive player in the history of hockey. Fair or not, the Great One was the standard set for Sidney Crosby long before he became an NHL phenomenon.
Gretzky himself pointed toward Crosby as the player most likely to break records that many deemed unbreakable. Crosby was “the Next One,” a catchy moniker that suggested he would carry hockey into its next generation. Thing was, Sid the Kid never backed down from the hype, the expectations, the greatness.
The difficulty in justifying the comparison wasn’t scoring the way Gretzky did but winning the way Gretzky did. For the 894 goals and the 2,857 points over his 21- year career, for the 92 goals in 1981-82 and the 215 points in 1985-86 and the eight straight MVPs, Gretzky was more proud of the four Cups he won with the Edmonton Oilers between 1984 and 1988.
Yes, winning always came first. Crosby took his first major step
toward victory Wednesday night when he scored the first two goals in a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals. Years from now, people could look back and conclude that Game Three accelerated the learning curve and marked his arrival as a true NHL superstar.
The best players are those who strap their teams on their backs when the stakes are the highest, and that’s what Crosby did Wednesday night. His teammates could sense a different kid in the dressing room before the game. He was more focused, more determined, more of a leader than they had noticed in the past.
“I could see the fire in his eyes,” center Maxime Talbot said. “It was all about the game and respect for the game. He wants to win. He’s a guy you look up to. He’s the best player in the game, yes, but it’s not about the skill that he has. It’s about what he brings to the game, his energy and emotion.”
Gretzky himself pointed toward Crosby as the player most likely to break records that many deemed unbreakable. Crosby was “the Next One,” a catchy moniker that suggested he would carry hockey into its next generation. Thing was, Sid the Kid never backed down from the hype, the expectations, the greatness.
The difficulty in justifying the comparison wasn’t scoring the way Gretzky did but winning the way Gretzky did. For the 894 goals and the 2,857 points over his 21- year career, for the 92 goals in 1981-82 and the 215 points in 1985-86 and the eight straight MVPs, Gretzky was more proud of the four Cups he won with the Edmonton Oilers between 1984 and 1988.
Yes, winning always came first. Crosby took his first major step
toward victory Wednesday night when he scored the first two goals in a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals. Years from now, people could look back and conclude that Game Three accelerated the learning curve and marked his arrival as a true NHL superstar.
The best players are those who strap their teams on their backs when the stakes are the highest, and that’s what Crosby did Wednesday night. His teammates could sense a different kid in the dressing room before the game. He was more focused, more determined, more of a leader than they had noticed in the past.
“I could see the fire in his eyes,” center Maxime Talbot said. “It was all about the game and respect for the game. He wants to win. He’s a guy you look up to. He’s the best player in the game, yes, but it’s not about the skill that he has. It’s about what he brings to the game, his energy and emotion.”
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