With great power comes great responsibility.
And as The Hockey News writes every year, there’s a handful of people in hockey with as much power and influence as Sidney Crosby.
In the post-Michael Jordan “Republicans buy sneakers, too” world, athletes rarely use their voice for anything other than collecting cheques from corporate America. (For the record, I would too.)
There’s no athlete more marketable in this country than The Kid from Cole Harbour. His commercials sell the image and the ideal; he is the face of small-town Canada. His polite, soft-spoken, humble and hard-working nature represents the best in everyone north of the 49.
But now, he’s become more than the face of hockey and humility. He is the face of concussions. Since the issue gained prominence in the last five years, no living athlete’s brain has been more under the microscope than Sid’s. Hell, Maclean’s had a cover story on that piece of his anatomy injured by David Steckel and Victor Hedman.
One of the common criticisms number 87 is that he has a boring public persona and the charisma of a glass of milk. This may be true, but those who say he has nothing interesting to say clearly weren’t listening at his press conference back in September.
He flat-out called for hits-to-the-head to be banned.
“It could do a lot more good than what it’s going to take away from the game,” he said that day.
He saved hockey in Pittsburgh because of his presence. He can now save hockey from itself. More games with Sid involved is better for everyone.
While Crosby’s health is no more important than David Perron’s or Marc Savard’s or Peter Mueller’s (other NHLers who have spent significant time sidelined because of concussions), his experience does matter more and so does his voice. He commands more attention and scrutiny because of his profile, and what his voice now says is that the game needs to grow.
His biggest fight no longer involves Alex Ovechkin — who? — the Bruins, Flyers or any other team standing in the Penguins’ way for another meeting with Lord Stanley. His fight is to show: one, the kids who adore him and the parents who coach how to cope in this new concussion-conscious society; and two, the conservative league that profits off his talents how to protect him and his brethren better so there can be more magic moments like those on his Monday return.
Crosby sees hockey for its best and worst. The skill and speed and physicality, which may please the eye but creates danger. Only he knows what he went through in the past 10 months, and he doesn’t want anyone who plays the game to suffer what he did because of it.
The rest of his career will transpire as it should. A Stanley Cup here, a Rocket Richard there, captain in Socchi, probably in Pyeongchang, too. But what he can accomplish now trumps the stats and trophies of a Hall of Fame career.
Crosby had his prodigious skills from the moment he first stepped on the ice in Cole Harbour. Twenty-four years into his life, he’s gained something even more profound: a purpose.
