Crosby PIT 4NF bug

Sidney Crosby was named captain of Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday, giving him the chance to lead his country to a fourth international championship.

The 37-year-old center will be joined on Team Canada's leadership group by Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who will be alternate captains.

"It's an honor to be honest with you. I think that when you're part of groups like this, you appreciate the fact that there's a lot of guys who are captains or assistant captains on their own clubs," Crosby said. "There's no shortage of leadership whatsoever. But I think just your responsibility and just being part of that group is something I'm excited for, but especially in this scenario too, where, it's a lot of new guys. I think that's something that we got a lot of guys who are excited but also that's something that we can build right away. So, yeah, I'm excited for that.

Crosby, who has been the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins since May 31, 2007, has captained Canada to wins at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the 2015 World Championship and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

"I look forward to serving on the leadership group with Connor and Cale, as they are both excellent leaders and are deserving of this honor. I know the leadership group and our entire team is excited to wear the Maple Leaf, and we look forward to kicking off the 4 Nations Face-Off in front of Canadian fans."

The 4 Nations Face-Off is an international tournament featuring teams made up of only NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.

The teams will play each other once in a round-robin format starting on Feb. 12 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The final day of the round robin is Feb. 17 at TD Garden in Boston, with the two top teams advancing to the championship game on Feb. 20 in Boston.

Canada opens the tournament against Sweden on Feb. 12 in Montreal (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

“I would like to congratulate Sidney, Connor and Cale for being named captains for the 4 Nations Face-Off. All three possess exceptional leadership qualities, a determination to be the best and a desire to win, as well as elite skill,” said Canada general manager Don Sweeney who holds the same role with the Boston Bruins. “We are fortunate to have incredible leadership on our team, and we know this group of players will lead Canada with pride while playing an important role in helping us accomplish our ultimate goal of winning the 4 Nations Face-Off.”

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When asked in October who should be the Canada captain, McDavid didn't hesitate.

"It should be Sid. It should be Sid for sure, that's not even a question," McDavid said. "It's just how it should be. He's Sidney Crosby and he's been there so many times and he's the guy. It's not like I thought about it a lot, it's just such a no-brainer."

Said Crosby: "I appreciate that. I think that being a little more experienced he's giving me that. He's obviously a great leader and he's done so much for the team here and for Canada as well. I think anytime you're looked to wear a letter, whether it's a 'C' or an 'A' and be a part of Team Canada, it's a great honor regardless. But I appreciate that."

Crosby, the longest-tenured captain in the NHL, is the Penguins' all-time leader in games (1,324) and assists (1,042) and is second in goals (607) and points (1,649) to Mario Lemieux (690 goals, 1,723 points). Voted among the 100 Greatest NHL Players as part of the League's Centennial celebration in 2017, Crosby is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (2009, 2016, 2017) and two-time Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP (2016, 2017). He has also won the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion twice, the Hart Trophy as League MVP twice, the "Rocket" Richard Trophy as top goal scorer twice and the Ted Lindsay Award as MVP as chosen by the NHL Players' Association three times.

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