During the last practice in Pittsburgh before the holiday break, Sidney Crosby brought cookies to the rink along with, of course, some banana bread – “his mom’s famous recipe,” Marcus Pettersson said with a grin. “He’s got a little addiction,” Kris Letang added.
Crosby bakes for the group periodically throughout the season, one of many thoughtful gestures the Penguins captain makes for his teammates – impressive from anyone, much less someone of his stature. During this season of giving, Pettersson and Rickard Rakell had been marveling at the captain’s generous nature that very day.
“Me and Raks were actually just joking around about how good he is with giving gifts,” Pettersson said. “I don't know if he has a thought behind it about when he retires, that he is expecting a lot of gifts back from everybody (laughs). But I don't think so. I think he’s just a great guy.”
“It’s just in him to give,” said Crosby’s fellow Cole Harbour native and close friend Nathan MacKinnon. “He’ll spend money on his friends and I’m sure his family, but never really on himself. He’s not a flashy guy, obviously. But he’s very thoughtful.”
Crosby goes above and beyond to mark occasions for the people around him, whether it’s a holiday, a career achievement, or simply a memorable experience. His capacity to do all of that, in addition to continuing to be an elite talent at age 36 and an unparalleled leader, is remarkable.
“I think he makes sure, in his way, to show how appreciative he is and how grateful he is for what everybody brings to the table,” Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “I could talk to you for three days about what those are.”
A year or two ago, Kris Letang said Crosby gave the guys AirPods for Christmas, each one personalized with the player’s number on the case.
Crosby’s old teammate Jordan Staal still has the iPad he received after Crosby won his first Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in the 2009-10 season. “I remember it was the first-ever iPad ever, which makes me feel old just saying that,” Staal said with a smile. “He got them for the whole team. I swear I still have it. The sad part is I think one of my kids smacks it around a bit. But I thought that was pretty cool.”
When Crosby captained Team Canada for the 2015 World Championship in the Czech Republic, there was a group that liked to go out on the town when they had the chance. “We had this one bar we loved in Prague, and we’d always get this bottle of rum or whatever,” said Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene, his teammate at the tournament. “So, after we won gold, he got bottles for everybody who went out. Kind of a nice memento. Actually, I still drink it today because it was so good.”
Duchene joked that as a Maritimer, Sid enjoys his rum. He loved hosting everyone in his home province for the Nova Scotia Showdown, with gift bags waiting in everyone’s hotel room when the Penguins arrived.
Crosby’s family had packed them with items special to the area, along with banana bread, with this batch baked by Sidney's mom Trina. “The only thing he missed was a live lobster,” fellow Nova Scotia native Ryan Graves said. “It was great. He put a lot of effort into that weekend, and I think guys really appreciated what it meant to him and how much he put into it.”
Crosby also likes giving out framed photos, like he did for the fathers on this year’s Highmark Dads Trip with their group picture at Mount Royal Park in Montreal, and like he did for the players who took part in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park in January.
But of course, Crosby’s big-heartedness goes far past commemorating notable events.
“He cares so much about every single person,” P.O. Joseph said. “It's just the attention to detail that he has that makes people feel welcome and good about themselves that makes this guy a special guy. And, of course, he is who he is, so it's even better when it comes from a guy like that. I think just the fact that he really means it, and he doesn't do it just because he wants to be seen as a good guy… he just is a good guy, you know?”
Former teammate Brian Dumoulin traveled with Crosby to Toronto for the BioSteel hockey camp in the summer of 2022, shortly after the Penguins had traded Mike Matheson to Montreal. When they met at the airport, Dumoulin noticed Crosby had a cooler with him that contained a surprise for Matheson, who was also taking part in the camp.
“I was like, what’s that for? He's like ah, man, Mikey loves these sandwiches, from this sub shop in Sewickley,” Dumoulin said. “So Sid got him one, put it in a cooler, packed the cooler, and was bringing it to Toronto with us. We probably left around 11:50, but when we got into Toronto, our plane was delayed; then we had to wait for customs for an hour; then we sat in traffic for like another two hours; then Mikey didn't end up getting there until eight. So, it was a whole travel day, and Sid finally gave Mikey his frickin’ sandwich that he had got (laughs). By that time, you know the sandwich was probably soggy. But it’s just such a nice gesture.”
Crosby and Duchene’s teammate at that 2015 World Championship, Tyson Barrie, was touched by something the captain did for his agent, Bayne Pettinger, who had previously worked for Team Canada. Pettinger had been sitting with Crosby at another one of those BioSteel camps, which was in Montreal. At the time, Pettinger had recently come out as gay and mentioned in passing to Crosby how he thought the Pride warmup jerseys were so cool.
“Bayner FaceTimed me a couple months later, almost in tears,” Barrie said. “The concierge at his condo called him and was like hey, there’s a big package here for you, can you come down and grab it? Turns out Sid had gotten a Pride jersey framed for Bayner. He wrote, ‘Bayner, proud of you.’ That’s the kind of guy he is. You'll never hear about any of this stuff. He's just always doing stuff under the radar. He’s just a special guy.”
Evgeni Malkin, Crosby’s fellow franchise center and teammate for nearly two decades, said, “It’s almost like he’s the perfect player, perfect friend. Some guys win just one Stanley Cup, they think they’re like a god, you know? But Sid, never. You see everybody wants to play here, first of all, it’s because of Sid.”
Letang joked that he wasn’t going to use the word perfect, “because there’s nothing perfect,” he laughed. “But he always makes sure everybody is taken care of, and they’re having a good time. He loves to get to know people. For me, what he did for my dad last year… the banana bread stuff… it’s just a way of looking at things, you never want to leave some people behind. There’s not a specific gesture that comes to mind, because it’s such a daily thing for him.”
Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas said that you hear all of these things about Crosby from the outside, but you almost can’t believe that it’s all real. “But it’s more than real,” Dubas said. “Every single day, you see a number of things that back it all up.”
Erik Karlsson felt the same way, saying that the captain’s dedication to this sport, the organization, his teammates, and everyone around him is rare to come by, and he’s never seen anyone put in as much time and effort as Crosby does to it all.
“He loves hockey an incredible amount, loves leading the group, and is determined to continue to win,” Dubas said. “I think we should never take for granted how special it is to be around someone like that each day.”
