Team Canada Provides New Update on the Status of Sidney Crosby

It’s certainly not the worst news Team Canada could have received regarding the status of their captain the morning after he left their quarterfinal win with a lower-body injury.

Despite missing what appeared to be an optional practice, head coach Jon Cooper provided a fairly positive update on Sidney Crosby, all things considered, still not even willing to rule him out of Friday’s semifinal.

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Cooper said:

“There’s a chance. I’m not ruling out anything; we’ve got the best of the best looking after him. So, we’ll know — I mean, we’ve still got another 24 hours or so — but there’s a chance. Like I said last night, I’m not ruling him out for the tournament. We’re taking this day by day. We’ll get through tomorrow and see where we are. He’s either playing or he’s not, and then we’ll move on to whatever game we play next… There’s no details. He’s either going to be available or he’s not, that’s all I’ll say.”

Crosby left the game early in the second period after taking two hard hits from bruising blue liner Radko Gudas, appearing to twist or tweak his knee on the first of the two collisions.

The 38-year-old’s absence would be a massive hole to fill, as seen on Wednesday. He’s tied for third in scoring among Canadians at the tournament with six points (two goals, four assists) across four games, though it was effectively three games and a period or so.

Should Crosby be unable to suit up against Finland, it would make sense to see Nick Suzuki take over center duties on that line with Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, especially after his effort and clutch goal to tie the game with just 3:27 remaining against the Czechs.

As much as Canada — and Crosby himself — will want to see the captain healthy enough to gut it out for the rest of the tournament, the Pittsburgh Penguins remain just as much of a priority. They currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division and are poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021–22, making this no easy decision for Kyle Dubas — who is in Milan with the team — or the organization.

Next: Look Away, Toronto: Team Canada Jabs at Marner Big-Game Narrative