NHL

Penguins' Crosby living up to expectations

The only thing to slow him against Tampa Bay is a sore foot, and even that's questionable.

By TOM JONES
Published November 27, 2005

TAMPA - Hockey sensation Sidney Crosby (a.k.a. The Kid , The Next One an d The Savior ) limped to an open stall and sat down Saturday inside the Penguins locker room at the St. Pete Times Forum. Immediately, he was surrounded by a half-dozen reporters and peppered with questions.

How's the foot? Where did it hit you? Can you play? When will you decide if you can play? How's the swelling? Can you wear a shoe? Can you wear a skate? Is this the worst injury you've ever had?

"I think it depends on the swelling," Crosby said. "If it's still swollen (today), and because it's swollen, the left foot probably doesn't fit in a skate. It's both the pain and the swelling. We'll see."

Officially, he is listed as questionable, but that might be optimistic considering his limp.

What isn't in question is his impact in the NHL. Crosby leads all rookies and the Penguins in scoring with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 23 games. How good is that? Consider that the Lightning's Vinny Lecavalier had 28 points in his entire rookie season.

"What he is doing is unfathomable," said former Penguin Phil Bourque, the team's radio analyst. "The kid oozes confidence. People say luck is when preparation meets opportunity and this kid is a perfect example of that. Since he was 13 years old, he has been preparing himself for this opportunity."

A few years back, none other than Wayne Gretzky proclaimed Crosby as "The Next One," the kid with the best chance to break all his records. A household name in Canada by the time he was 16, Crosby, who played for the same junior team (Rimouski of the Quebec league) that Lecavalier and Brad Richards did, entered the NHL with expectations never before seen in league history.

"And that is not easy to deal with," said Lecavalier, the first pick of the 1998 draft. "People expect you to come in and be a star right away. But he has lived up to the expectations. He seems to have handled it well. Obviously, he is strong mentally."

Bourque said Crosby handles himself like a 15-year veteran. On and off the ice.

"When he speaks, he says what's in his heart, not what someone else told him to say," Bourque said. "His maturity is unbelieveable. Am I surprised what he is doing on the ice? I predicted he was going to end up with 60 or 70 points. Obviously, he is going to go beyond my expectations."

Crosby is on a pace to score 100 points, which is six more than Marty St. Louis scored last season to lead the league. Of course, new rules have created more scoring and helped the smallish (5-11, 193 pounds) Crosby.

"But those rules are helping everybody," Lecavalier said. "The guy is already a star in the league and he's only going to get better and better every year and that's good for the NHL."

It's also good for the Penguins, not unlike when Mario Lemieux saved the franchise as an 18-year-old in 1984.

"If we didn't get Mario, there would be a parking lot there now instead of an arena," said Pens assistant general manager Ed Johnston, who was the GM in 1984 and drafted Lemieux. "He was such an impact guy. Crosby, well, he just gave us another shot in the arm. He basically is doing what Mario did for us. Season tickets and attendance are up 38 percent, which is unheard of."

Over the past few seasons, Lemieux, who still plays and is the franchise's CEO, has warned Pittsburgh that the Penguins cannot survive without a new arena. The future of the Penguins looked bleak until the team's pingpong ball came up in the draft lottery. That allowed them to take Crosby.

"Attendance is up, mainly because of No.87," Bourque said. "Down the road, there is talk of a new arena in Pittsburgh. And you've got to think with a guy like that in the fold, the city of Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania would have to be crazy to let a commodity like that go to some other city."

Crosby prefers to talk hockey instead of arenas. He's more interesting goals and victories than he is in leases and referendums. Yet he also knows he is the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the new NHL.

"I think it's something that you have to take serious," Crosby told reporters in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. "What I learned is just going through it and have fun playing hockey. And you have to worry about hockey. Handling stuff outside of that when you need to, but just worry about hockey."

So far, he has no worries except a sore foot. There's no question about that.

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:18:21]