About an hour after he had scored the shootout winner in a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the always approachable Sidney Crosby was in the Air Canada Centre chatting with a fan in a wheelchair who offered up an oh-so-accurate observation.
“You are back!” the fan told Sid the Kid.
Is he ever. With his concussion issues a distant memory — and, believe us, Crosby is grateful to have his clear memories back — the Penguins captain is having one of the best seasons of his career, leading the league in assists (33), points (45) and is fourth in plus-minus (+18).
More importantly, he is playing with the type of grit, determination and work ethic that we haven’t seen since he first got his bell rung on a seemingly innocent play by then-Washington Capitals forward David Steckel at the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. Consider the words of arguably the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of blades.
“In my mind, I don’t think there’s any question Sidney Crosby is the best all-around player in the game,” Wayne Gretzky told ESPN.com the other day.
We agree. In fact, as Crosby closes in on his second Hart Trophy as league MVP, he took time out to chat with the Toronto Sun on a variety of topics ranging from his health to fighting to visors to potential expansion.
With Crosby bringing his Penguins back to Toronto for the second time in less than a week for their game against the Leafs on Thursday night, we present Crosby unplugged.
Visit torontosun.com by clicking the box for our Q&A with Crosby ...
