Fifteen years after scoring the “Golden Goal” that helped Canada win an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, and 11 years since captaining his country to another victory in Sochi, Sidney Crosby is taking on a familiar role in an international tournament.
Crosby will be Canada’s captain once again for the 4 Nations Face-Off next month in Montreal and Boston. He previously held the role in the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Auston Matthews is the captain for the U.S. for the first time after recently taking on that role with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Matthews doesn’t plan to change his leadership style, while Crosby, who has been the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2007, understands that short international tournaments are very different.
“There’s always a learning curve,” Crosby said in a video call with reporters on Friday. “When you have a new group and you’re in a situation like that, the learning curve’s quick, so, you’ve got to take in as much information as you can. But everyone’s picked for a reason, they’re selected for what they bring, so you’ve got to be able to bring that and just find a way to be at your best right away.”
Since the World Championships take place every spring while the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are ongoing, and because the league didn’t participate in the past two Olympics, the 4 Nations will be the first international tournament featuring the best players since 2016. Even that World Cup had the unique addition of Team North America, with young stars like Matthews, Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon.
This time, Crosby, McDavid, and MacKinnon will all be on the same roster for the first time.
“With our team, just the collection of guys, there hasn’t been much opportunity for this group to be together,” Crosby said. “Getting excited to get the guys together, to be in the same place, to practice and build.”
The first practices are set for February 10, with games following shortly after. There’s no official training camp, so Matthews plans to stick with what works for him in Toronto.
“I don’t need to step in there and be this rah-rah guy that maybe I’m not,” Matthews said. “That’s not really my style. I think I’m just going to approach it the same way I would approach it here (with the Maple Leafs) and be myself and support guys, encourage guys and just try to be the best that I can be out there.”
Crosby has already achieved it all, winning the Stanley Cup three times and Olympic gold twice. He would love to add a third gold next year in Milan, but for now, his focus is on this tournament.
The timing of the break is good for Crosby, as he and the Penguins are in last place, with the trade deadline coming up on March 7.
“Whether you’ve won five in a row or you’re grinding to put wins together, this is something that for a long time we haven’t been able to do this, so I think everyone’s excited for that,” Crosby said. “Personally, I am, not specifically because we’ve been trying to grind ourselves here.
That’s part of it, but if anything, hopefully that urgency and desperation and situation that we’re in will help going into the 4 Nations as far as just being at my best.”
The U.S. hasn’t won a major international tournament since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, which was a year before Matthews was born. While the pressure is not all on Matthews, as captain, he has the important job of putting his team in the best position to succeed.
“It’s just important to build that chemistry, come together as a team,” Matthews said. “And it’s not going to be easy. Each team’s got some special players, and it’s going to be highly competitive. I think everybody has a lot of honor representing their countries, as well. I think everybody’s looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity that this presents.”
