The World Cup of Hockey has ended. With the ending of the tournament, Sidney Crosby finds himself in elite company.
What a year it has been for Pittsburgh Penguins forward and captained Sidney Crosby. First, his team the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in June where Crosby himself won the Conn Smythe trophy, and after a few weeks off, Crosby joined Team Canada for the World Cup of Hockey tournament, where his team did not lose a game.
Team Canada dominated the competition during the tournament. They did not lose a game. The final was a best of three series with a young Team Europe. Canada swept them. If you are a seasoned hockey fan, this will not surprise you. Canada usually dominates in team competitions as a majority of NHL players are Canadian.
After the tournament had ended, the MVP was Sidney Crosby. Winning the MVP put Crosby into elite status with a few well-known names.
Bobby Orr was the first play in NHL history to complete the trifecta of winning the Hart Trophy, Conn Smythe, and Canada Cup/World Cup MVP. He did it in 1976. In 1987, the “great one” Wayne Gretzky followed up Orr with the trifecta. This year Crosby joined them.
Orr and Gretzky are arguably the best players ever to play the game of hockey. Crosby is a legend in his right. Crosby joining the two Hall of Fame legends seals his fate of being a Hall of Famer himself.
Crosby finished the tournament with 10 points on three goals and seven assists. Out of the 24 goals scored, Crosby was involved 41% of those. Crosby had three assists against Team Europe, and one of those came on the game-tying goal scored by Patrice Bergeron. His linemates also made a huge impact on the win. They finished second and third in scoring behind him.
With all the trophies Crosby now has, he has propelled himself into elite company. He has sealed his fate as arguably one of the greatest in NHL history, like it or not.