Sidney Crosby, playing against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on Nov. 30.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Most of the voters for the Lou Marsh Trophy probably won't agree, since they declined to select him as Canada's athlete of the year, but a lot of people who know a thing or two about hockey think that at the very least Sidney Crosby is still the best player in the game.
"That's a mantle you earn over time," Wayne Gretzky told ESPN.com. "It's one of those things where you earn that right to have that title – until somebody takes it away from you.
"Is Connor [McDavid] a great player? Absolutely. Does Connor have an opportunity to be the next Crosby? Absolutely. Right now, Sidney deserves to be known as the best player in the game. He's been the best player consistently in his career. He's won Stanley Cups and he's won gold medals. Until somebody takes that mantle away from him, he's still going to hold the crown."
Crosby, who will lead the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, is the subject of the great player debate now for a couple of reasons: One, he is in one of the best stretches of his career despite missing six games early this season because of concussion concerns; and two, the heir apparent is really starting to assert himself.
McDavid, who will turn 20 in four weeks, was leading the NHL in points before last night's games with 39 in 32 games on 12 goals and 27 assists. It was not until McDavid arrived and hoisted the Oilers on his back that the team was able to harness its collection of young talent and rise to the lofty heights (for the Oilers, anyway) of third in the Pacific Division.
To keep this argument as simple as possible, one can say Crosby, 29, has done better with better teams. In the last calendar year, he was far and away the best player on the Penguins and, despite the presence of such offensive talents as Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang, was still acknowledged as the one who carried the team to the 2016 Stanley Cup. A few months later, Crosby was again the best player and the driving force in an even greater collection of talent, leading Canada to the World Cup of Hockey title.
Prior to the Penguins' game Friday night against the Los Angeles Kings, Crosby had 21 goals and 12 assists in 24 games, six points behind McDavid. The Penguins were also flying high, with seven consecutive wins.
Crosby's 21 goals in 24 games represents a pace for about 65 goals by the end of the season. Only three players have scored 60 or more goals in the past 20 years – Mario Lemieux with 69 in 1995-96, Alexander Ovechkin (65) in 2007-08 and Steven Stamkos (60) in 2011-12.
Analytics people will say Crosby's current pace is unsustainable, but there are not many who would bet against him, especially his peers. Like Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand, who enjoyed a run with five goals in 10 games at the World Cup thanks to having Crosby as his centre.
"Some of the plays he makes, I think he surprises people every year, especially with the talent that he has," Marchand told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week. "You think you've seen it all until he pulls another trick out of the bag. He's a fun player to watch."
ESPN.com asked 12 people around the NHL – Gretzky, nine players, a coach and a scout – to name the best player in the league. Only the coach did not say Crosby. He actually ranked him third behind McDavid and Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. Then again, the coach declined to be identified.
Speaking of coaches, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Crosby does not get enough credit for his defensive work, something McDavid is still learning.
"I've said for a long time that his play away from the puck gets underrated," Sullivan said. "I think he's as good a defensive centre as he is an offensive centre when we want to use him in that capacity. We don't always use him in that capacity but sometimes we do, and the reason we do is because he's so capable."
Something that may slow down the Penguins is the loss of Letang, who leads their defencemen with 19 points in 25 games. He apparently has a leg injury and is expected to miss about two weeks.
While Justin Schultz may take over as the top offensive threat from the blue line and on the power play, Sullivan said replacing Letang will not be that simple.
"He logs a lot of minutes," the coach said. "Those aren't easy minutes to replace. I don't know if we have any one guy who can do it. I think it's going to be by committee. It's going to be the group of six."