Sidney Crosby expresses a desire to play with Connor McDavid, willing to make sacrifices to make it happen

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Mike Armenti
September 16, 2023 (10:15)

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When you look around the league and try to identify all of the players who are truly branded as generational talents, the list is pretty short. Two of the active players who probably best embody that title, you'd have to include Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby on that list. McDavid is in the middle of his already impressive NHL career, while Crosby is certainly entering his golden years and the twilight of his career.

One of the the true crimes against hockey is that we haven't yet had the opportunity to see McDavid and Crosby line up together for Team Canada in international play. However, we may yet receive the honour of getting to watch these two Canadian hockey icons line up with one another in 2025, if the NHL makes good on its plans to participate in the next World Cup of Hockey.

This week, Crosby was asked about the potential opportunity in front of him to play alongside McDavid and seemed not only intrigued by the possibility, but also excited. He also said that if such a tournament were to occur, he'd have no problem playing a complementary role to McDavid, passing the torch, so to speak.

"I'll go there," Crosby said. "I'll play my off-wing, no worries. Listen, I've skated with him and I've played both, so I think I'm good either way with playing center or wing, whatever he wants to do. He can carry the mail. I'll just find the opening."

He went on to add, "Seeing all the other countries, you look at their lineups. I mean, it's pretty tight. I mean, there's no real favored team. It's easy to say Canada because we've had success at Olympics and that sort of thing. But, I mean, the hockey is incredible. And from my experience, it doesn't really get any better than that, when you're looking at the lineups and you're looking to players that are assembled."

Just picturing what that team might look like with the likes of Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, Marner, Bedard... there are so many marquee players that Canada could ice together. It's thrilling to think about. At the same time, I know that nothing is a sure thing, and while I'm excited about the possibility, I'm doing my very best to temper my expectations, so as to not be let down if it doesn't happen.