There’s an argument to be made that Sidney Crosby is the greatest athlete of his generation — across all sports. And he’s coming to Utah this week.
The Pittsburgh Penguins star has his name on the Stanley Cup three times, having won it in 2009, 2016 and 2017. He has a pair of Olympic gold medals and has won nearly every individual award available to him multiple times.
Now, before going to the comment section to argue that LeBron James and Tom Brady have more rings and that Michael Phelps has more gold medals, remember that the Stanley Cup is regarded as the hardest trophy to win in pro sports — and he did it in an era where dynasties are impossible to build and there are more teams than there had ever been before.
Since the day he entered the NHL, nobody has scored more points than Crosby. This is his 20th NHL season and he still has never had a single season where he finished below a point per game. He also led the Penguins to the playoffs 16 seasons in a row.
What makes Sidney Crosby so good?
If you were to ask Crosby for his key to a Hall of Fame career, he’d probably credit his superstitions. In reality, it’s probably a whole lot of natural skill combined with the greatest work ethic the NHL has ever seen.
“Sid just represents everything that’s right about hockey,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “His work ethic is off the charts. He’s a great leader. He’s a fierce competitor. He carries himself with such humility. He represents our sport and the Pittsburgh Penguins with such dignity and class.”
But you’re probably interested in his superstitions.
Most die-hard hockey fans are aware that Crosby has used the same jock strap and shoulder pads his entire career and that he eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before every game with particular brands of each ingredient.
Some may have heard former Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet tell the story of Crosby making him throw out a brand-new suit because they had lost every game he’d worn it.
But here’s one that most probably haven’t heard. A former teammate of Crosby’s got this story from Crosby’s girlfriend, Kathy, whom he’s been with for 17 years. With an ear-to-ear smile on his face, the teammate told it to a group of us reporters when he was in Utah earlier this season.
One night, Crosby opened a container of ice cream, ate a spoonful, put it back in the freezer and went to bed. He played particularly well the next game, so he did it again the next night and every night after.
The most disappointing realization in the world — one that has struck you and me at one point or another — eventually hit upon Crosby during his ritual: ice cream is finite. And don’t think for a second that he could go to the store and get another tub of magical ice cream when it ran out. That would be preposterous.
So, when the ice cream came to its end, he kept the empty container in the freezer so that he could eat spoonfuls of air out of the tub before bed each night.
As you might expect, his girlfriend threw out the empty tub while he was on the road.
Utah Hockey Club vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
As mentioned, Crosby and the Penguins make their first visit to Utah on Wednesday. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed on Utah 16 and Utah HC+.
It’s the second meeting between these teams this year. In the first, a 6-1 Utah win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 23, Crosby scored the 600th goal of his career.