Sidney Crosby finds balance in life in the spotlight

Kevin Allen | USA TODAY Sports

CANONSBURG, Pa. - Days before the 2005 NHL draft, when 17-year-old Sidney Crosby was interviewing with all 30 teams, the New York Rangers asked him the mother of all questions.

"They asked, 'If we could give you a pill that you could take that would guarantee that you would be part of a Stanley Cup-winning team and a Olympic gold medal team, but you couldn't live past age 25, would you take that pill?'" Crosby recalled, laughing at the memory.

Crosby knew the Rangers were trying to ascertain whether he would be willing to do anything for his team. "But it was such a weird question, and I remember thinking, 'How do you answer that?'" he said.

The question appeared to have no acceptable solution, like the ending of the movie War Games when the computer determines the only "winning move is not to play."

But Crosby is a player, and players play.

"I wouldn't take the pill," he told the Rangers, "because I plan to win more than one of those."

Crosby's answer was both perfect and prophetic. Now in his 10th NHL season, Crosby has two Olympic gold medals, one Stanley Cup championship, another trip to the Final, two NHL scoring championships, one goal-scoring title and five 100-point seasons. He has been voted MVP twice by writers and three times by players.

He has been the player that scouts expected him to be, and the ambassador that the NHL needed him to be. Crosby delivers on the ice and does as many interviews and appearances as a league has a right to expect.

"I don't think it is possible to do more for a league than Sid has done," said Pittsburgh Penguins President David Morehouse.

Crosby arrived in the NHL right after the canceled 2004-05 season. Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin and Crosby were third and sixth in the scoring race that first season, and it was clear they could do for the NHL what Larry Bird and Magic Johnson did for the NBA. Both players have been instrumental in helping the NHL grow, but the success of the Penguins and of Team Canada has forced Crosby to do more of the heavy lifting as a spokesman.

"I feel like he is well thought-out and he has a good care level for the game and the fans," said Nashville Predators general manager David Poile.

No one at the NHL office has to worry about Crosby making a misstep on Twitter because to him, that form of social media is a one-way street. He travels down that road to find information, not to provide it.

"I'm pretty old-fashioned," Crosby told USA TODAY Sports. "I never feel the need to say where I am. Because I do a lot of interviews, people might believe I want my opinion heard. But I don't ever feel a need to share my opinion. This just comes with the territory."

Crosby has patience with the puck on the ice — and with his off-ice obligations. He is impressively accessible for a player of his stature, especially when you consider he has been treated like a rock star in Canada since he was a 17-year-old playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

At a young age, he had a mature grasp of what it meant to be a star. In 2004, he told USA TODAY Sports that the hardest thing for him was balancing his obligation to sign autographs for fans with his desire not to inconvenience teammates who had to wait for him.

How many teenagers think like that?

"Just because you receive extra attention doesn't give you the right to (disrupt) your teammates," Crosby said. "You have to be mindful of that. That never changes. You have to keep things in perspective."

Some athletes bristle at tough questions or joust with the news media about questions being asked. But that's not Crosby's style because it's not his personality.

"When you are asked a question, that question reflects someone else's opinion," Crosby said. "And my opinion may be different than their opinion, but it's not the place to get into an argument over my opinion and your opinion. They are trying to do their job the best they can, and I have to do my job by answering the question the best I can."

He is far more likely to mix it up with a Philadelphia Flyers forward than to end up in a verbal sparring match with the media. But he has empathy for players who do have squabbles with the media, such as Toronto Maple Leafs star Phil Kessel, who recently called a reporter an "idiot" after a hostile exchange.

"We've all been in that situation where you see where the angle of the question is going and you don't agree with it," Crosby said. "What I saw in that was people being human. Obviously, you don't want that to happen, but I don't blame (Kessel) because of the position he was put in. At the same, the person asking the question is doing their job. To me, it was just human nature taking over. "

Not everything works out the way Crosby wants, but he seems to give considerable thought to what he says and does.

"At some point, how you act is just who you are," he said. "I may not always have the most exciting answers, but that's who I am. I can't change that."

Teammates and adversaries marvel at his ability to balance all of the commitments he has a captain, player, league representative and someone who wants to enjoy his life.

"He does a good job of separating," said New York Islanders captain John Tavares. "He has a lot to deal with on a daily basis and a lot of it is away from the rink, but once he steps on the ice, you see that's where he is most comfortable."

Tavares, who played with Crosby at the 2014 Olympics, hasn't not seen any evidence that Crosby's off-ice workload affects his performance on the ice.

"His focus is always there," Tavares said. "He never seems to be tired. … He always seems to be at his best."

Crosby, though, never has a day off from being who he is.

"Win or lose, Sid has to face the music all of the time," Penguins teammate Pascal Dupuis said. "Half of us, if we lose, we get undressed, and try to get out of there as soon as possible. But Sid stays and answers the question."

As the face of the league, he has his share of critics. The comment section of stories about Crosby usually has plenty of fans complaining that he gets too much attention or that he "whines" at officials to get calls. The latter is a complaint that all top players hear.

"I would say that I am aware of it," Crosby said, laughing. "It's hard to ignore 18,000 boos in some places … that's the way it is, and I don't know if there is anything you can do to change that."

Dupuis said opposing fans might boo Crosby, but they can't stop watching him every time he is on the ice.

"The booing is a tribute to how talented he is," he said.

Crosby can't go anywhere in Canada or Pittsburgh without being instantly recognized. Dupuis says Crosby has to take to the back alleys in Canada to enter a restaurant without creating a commotion.

"He gets interrupted four or five times, every course," Dupuis said. "We can see why everybody loves him because he treats everyone with respect."

Even with that, Crosby has managed to maintain some level of privacy. The main reason: He's not a true man about town.

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"I'm probably not going to a movie at 7 p.m. on a Friday night," he said, laughing. "But even if I didn't play hockey — let's say I was a firefighter — I wouldn't probably go to at 7 o'clock show on a Friday. If I'm going to a movie, it's going to be in the afternoon, on a Monday, when it is a little quieter."

He offers another example. "When it comes to Christmas shopping," he said, "I don't like being in a mall after Dec. 10, whether I play hockey or do something else. That's just who I am."

Remember that Crosby's salary averages $8.7 million, and yet he lived with Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and his family for several years because he enjoyed the family atmosphere. Even today, his home is a couple of blocks away from Lemieux.

Pittsburgh perfect for Crosby

Pittsburgh and Crosby seem perfect for each other. Lemieux, plus Steelers greats Jack Lambert, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann settled in Pittsburgh because people there appreciate their superstars, but they give them some space.

"It is not a pretentious place," Morehouse said. "Here, you say what you mean and you mean what you say. You are who you are and Sid has always been like that."

Crosby grew up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, a town of about 25,000 residents.

"I think New York is an awesome city. I have a good time there, but I couldn't see myself living there. It's so busy. It's not what I'm used to," he said. "I'm not New York, but I wouldn't want to be on a farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I'm not that guy either."

Morehouse said the story of Crosby is he is the same person away from the rink that he is on ice.

"That innate ability to see things that others don't see carries over to all aspects of his life," he said.

Crosby saw a need to get more youngsters involved in Pittsburgh youth hockey and came to the team with an idea of outfitting 1,000 youngsters head-to-toe with equipment every year. He has been doing this for seven seasons and has put his own money into the endeavor.

"He does more things that you don't hear about because he doesn't want you to hear about them," Morehouse said.

He said when you get to know Crosby you realize immediately that he was raised right.

"He is not flamboyant. He's quiet. He doesn't like a lot of attention," Morehouse said. "He takes his shoes off when he comes into your house. His manners are impeccable."

After a decade in the NHL, Crosby says he feels good about what he has accomplished, but is hopeful of doing much more. He's 27, meaning he likely will play another decade or longer.

"There is always the thought of wanting more," he said. "You look at some opportunities you had that you didn't take advantage of. That's kind of what pushes you to be better, to get to the next level."

Bad medical luck

Crosby's accomplishments are more remarkable when you consider he missed the better part of two seasons with concussion issues. Plus, he had a broken jaw that cost him a scoring title.

He has had bad medical luck, even this season, when he missed three December games with the mumps despite being well vaccinated against the virus. A lower-body injury kept him out of the All-Star Game.

"I've had a few bumps along the way, going through the concussion stuff," he

said. "At the time, it seemed really difficult. But in the end, I think it gave me a different perspective on things."

Crosby has had some bumps on the ice, too, scoring five points in 10 games in December. He had a much better January with 14 points in 11 games and is six points behind in the scoring race.

More important to Crosby, the Penguins are playing a new puck-possession style, and have added several players designed to make the team more competitive in the postseason.

"I want to think we will (play differently)," Crosby said. "In order to do that, we have to learn from previous playoffs.

"At the end of the day, it's still on us as players. You can talk about your system, but it's not an X's and O's thing. You have to go out there and compete."

The 10 seasons has clicked off very quickly for Crosby. He recalls Lemieux's youngest children, Austin and Alexa, helped him unpack and now they are inching toward adulthood.

"When I got (to Lemieux's home) I had no clue," Crosby said. "Once I got there, I remember thinking I was lucky to be there because there were so many things I had to take care of ... and then I had my learning curve fast-tracked because Mario was around. That was cool."

One of his objectives is to spend his entire career with the Penguins, as Lemieux did.

"That's a pretty tough thing to do these days," Crosby said. "Players move around a lot now. But I would definitely like to do that."