Sidney Crosby will have a game-worn jersey from the 2005 world junior hockey championship, but it won't be the one he wanted and it won't take away the hurt of losing a prized possession.
When the teenaged phenom arrived back in Rimouski, Que., two days after winning a gold medal at the world juniors, he immediately dug into his hockey bag. He needed to unpack his equipment, and among the skates and pads, he had tucked in the red game sweater with the number 9 he had worn during Canada's 6-1 win over Russia on Tuesday. But when he opened the bag, the jersey was gone.
That's when Crosby broke down and cried.
Yesterday, Hockey Canada tried to make things right by announcing it will give Crosby the white jersey he wore earlier in the tournament. But to do that, Hockey Canada had to remove it from an on-line auction where Crosby's white sweater had generated a bid of almost $20,000.
Despite the gesture, Crosby was still shaken emotionally.
"Definitely I'm upset," he told reporters before last night's Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game between Rimouski and Baie-Comeau. "It's tough. You play in the best series and win, and it's a symbol for sure. It's something you want to keep, something you want to have. Right now, it's pretty frustrating.
"I don't know what happened to it. It could have been taken or it could have gotten lost. All I know is, it's gone."
The case of the missing jersey was a hot topic in Canadian hockey as Crosby, his parents, Troy and Trina, and his agent, Pat Brisson, dealt with Hockey Canada officials who, in turn, dealt with representatives from Air Canada along with police in Grand Forks, N.D., and RCMP in Winnipeg and Montreal.
The 2005 world junior championship was held in Grand Forks and it's possible Crosby's jersey could have been taken out of his bag before it was loaded onto a truck and driven to Winnipeg. It's also possible that it may have been removed when the bag was transferred during Crosby's flights from Winnipeg to Montreal to Mont-Joli, Que.
Sidney's father, Troy, said his son was so upset on Thursday that he telephoned home to Cole Harbour, N.S., crying.
"It's hard to explain what he's feeling," Troy said. "It's just a sick, sick feeling. No one can understand just how important that jersey is. It can't be replaced.
"Winning that gold medal was so special and the jersey is the one he wore while they did it. To go from such a high feeling to such a low feeling so fast is hard."
Trina Crosby said the family was not prepared to offer a reward for the jersey right now, but Hockey Canada said it will.
The Crosbys have kept many of their son's pucks, sticks and newspaper articles and were optimistic the jersey will somehow find its way back.
"We hope whoever has the jersey realizes it's essentially worthless to them," Trina Crosby said. "It's stolen, and as soon as it surfaces, everyone will know. Its only value is sentimental, and that is for Sidney."
Hockey Canada has been auctioning the white jerseys, gloves and helmets from its championship team on-line through eBay. Last year, Hockey Canada ran a similar auction and collected $40,000 for minor hockey programs.
This year, because of the junior team's performance and Crosby's participation,
Hockey Canada was expecting to double its take, a portion of which will be donated to tsunami relief efforts in South Asia.
Denis Hainault, Hockey Canada's director of men's high performance, said Crosby's helmet and gloves were still open to bidders and that removing the jersey was the right thing to do.
"We called eBay and explained the situation to them and there is a provision," Hainault said.
"We can pull the item off. We decided it was more important for Sidney than it was for some sports collector."
Brian Ehrenworth, the president of Frameworth Sports Marketing, which lists Crosby as one of its clients, said whoever has the Crosby sweater has something that is more trouble than it's worth.
"This is equivalent to stealing a Monet painting from the Louvre," Ehrenworth said.
"If you are infatuated with the painting, great, because that's about it.
"You can't show it to anyone else and you can't brag about owning it." Hopefully, someone will put the jersey in a box and send it back."