Penguins Center Named Captain for Canada

While the 2024-2025 season hasn't been very kind to the Pittsburgh Penguins, their captain Sidney Crosby has had an excellent individual campaign. Playing in his 20th NHL season, he leads the team in scoring and is one of the few bright spots on a miserable Penguins team. Now, with the 4 Nations Face-Off looming, Crosby is adding to his strong 2025 by being named captain of Canada for the upcoming tournament.
The Penguins' captain is set to hold the captaincy for Canada yet again in international play. Crosby will go down in hockey history for many pieces of his storied career, but his gold medal-clinching goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, known as the Golden Goal, has been the pinnacle of his international achievements as a Canadian-born player. Now at age 37, this is one of the final events that Crosby will get to wear the "C" for his home country.
So far in 2024-2025, Crosby has skated in 53 games for the Penguins. He's posted 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points, while averaging over 20 minutes of ice-time. If he can keep up this scoring pace, he will establish a new NHL record as the first player to ever average a point-per-game in 20 straight seasons. The future Hall of Famer is showing that even in the twilight of his career, he's still one of the best players in the game and climbing the all-time points leaderboard.
The debate for who should be the captain of the team has been a hotly debated subject, but Crosby's veteran status and winning pedigree took precedent in the end. Joining him on Canada's leadership team are Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche.
Sidney Crosby has been named captain of Team Canada 🇨🇦 for next month's 4 Nations Face-Off.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 30, 2025
Cale Makar and Connor McDavid are the alternate captains.
The offensive firepower of Canada is something to behold as the 4 Nations Face-Off nears. Led by their leadership group, they can score seemingly at will with the roster they are bringing. If their defense and goaltending can hold up, Canada will likely be playing in the gold medal game, giving Crosby another chance to captain his home country to a gold medal.