How are people feeling about Crosby right now?

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Totally agree. Although, I think he's the best passer in the game.

If he would only shoot more I think he'd be even more dangerous. Dmen and goalies almost always know he's going to pass.

Good point and I think the exact same thing could be said for Dats as well.

[CAredwingsfan91 28]

good player but hes a complainer just like gretzky was back in his days i honestly think he dives more than half the time someone touches him he knows hes gonna get the call for him hes the darling of te NHL and as many would disagree with this the refs are gonna protect him no matter what.

[Wing-in-avs-town 123]

I don't question Crosby's talent or anything like that; he is definitely one of the top players in the game today, and I think he is too young to base his abilities on playoff success. He has only been in the playoffs twice, and I don't think it takes anything away from him if they don't make the Finals the two times they have been in the playoffs with him. I don't see how he could be a "disappointment" at this stage of his career as far as playoffs go. If five years from now they still haven't made a conference final or SCF, then maybe, but not now.

I get annoyed with Crosby because of how everyone reacts to him, not because of anything he does. I think he gets way more attention than he should because there are other players in the NHL (not many, but there are) who are just as good if not better than him, and they do not get the same attention. That's my only beef with Crosby, and it's not anything he can even control.

Lets face it, Crosby is the poster child of the "new" NHL. He is great player and will be for his entire career. IMO , AO is a better overall talent, but Sid has more support around him. He is a marketing "dream" of the NHL, and if the league has any hopes of reaching the next level, he's one of the main pieces to get there. Lets just hope they don't screw that up too.

[irishtemper14+25 11]

i dont know exactly why, but i just dont like him....i say its because he dives and complains like a girl but he started doing that after i didnt like him, it might be because i just think hes overrated

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

If I remember correctly there was a thread titled NHL disappointing players or some such. It got pretty heated.

There was 1 poster in particular who argued vehemently that Crosby was a disappointment b/c he didn't get the Pens out of the 1st round of the playoffs and based on his hype he should've been able to.

And the mystery poster is: drumroll.......................

imisssergei

People tried to explain that most of the Pens on that team that lost to Ottawa had never played in the playoffs, that most of their key personnel were young kids with zero playoff experience, including their goalie and that the Sens were the best East team that year. It didn't even make a dent.

All joking aside, this was not meant to single this poster out. There were others in that thread if I remember right. And that's just 1 thread. I didn't have it in me to delve deeper into the bowels of LGW.

Instead of being a historian, I figured those that thought of him as a disappointment would come forth and tell us if they feel any differently seeing as his team has fared much better this season. Those people had a reason for their opinion and I just wanted to know if it has changed at all.

Ok, so we're referring to some pissed off LGW'ers that felt either Zetterberg, Lidstrom or Datsyuk should be given more credit instead of the vast population which was drooling over Sid. I by no means am drooling over him, but I don't deny his talent either. I find it hard to take someone's opinion seriously when they say that the blame should fall squarely on Crosby for not getting his team out of the first round last year. It's a short-sighted, ridiculous claim without any real substance to back it up.

Edited April 29, 2008 by Never Forget Mac #25

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Ok, so we're referring to some pissed off LGW'ers that felt either Zetterberg, Lidstrom or Datsyuk should be given more credit instead of the vast population which was drooling over Sid. I by no means am drooling over him, but I don't deny his talent either. I find it hard to take someone's opinion seriously when they say that the blame should fall squarely on Crosby for not getting his team out of the first round last year. It's a short-sighted, ridiculous claim without any real substance to back it up.

I agree totally. But there's some folks who honestly felt different and now that he's gotten them out of round 1 and likely out of round 2 I wanted to know if there position had changed at all.

[RedStormRising 7]

You can't be the best without the ring. But he is very good and one of the tops in the NHL right now.

Edited April 29, 2008 by RedStormRising

[betterREDthandead 58]

Personally I think Crosby > Ovechkin. When it comes to Z and Datsyuk, I don't think either of them have the pure blinding offensive skill that Sid and Alex do. Both our guys are more complete players, but they have more experience too, so they should be. Datsyuk's almost 30(!) years old. Crosby's 20. So it stands to reason Datsyuk should be a more well-rounded player.

But Crosby at 27, 28, 29.....YIKES. And whether Crosby's better than Ovechkin doesn't matter from a league standpoint.....the debate's the thing. And it should bring the league loads of good pub.

[scottDFW 0]

But Crosby at 27, 28, 29.....YIKES. And whether Crosby's better than Ovechkin doesn't matter from a league standpoint.....the debate's the thing. And it should bring the league loads of good pub.

Exactly. This type of marque talent is good for the entire league. They attract viewers.

It mystifies me that Hockey is not more popular than it is (at least in the US).

I am hoping that with HD become prevalent, hockey will get a boost. It is hard to understate how much change HD brings to the watch-at-home experience. Being able to actually see/follow the puck is pretty crucial to a new fan. We know where it us just by watching the bodies move and heads turns. Not to mention, the wider view angles (seeing more rink at a time) makes the game easier to understand. Hmmmm, maybe that was it. Traditional TV just sucked at presenting hockey?

[redwing711 0]

I don't question Crosby's talent or anything like that; he is definitely one of the top players in the game today, and I think he is too young to base his abilities on playoff success. He has only been in the playoffs twice, and I don't think it takes anything away from him if they don't make the Finals the two times they have been in the playoffs with him. I don't see how he could be a "disappointment" at this stage of his career as far as playoffs go. If five years from now they still haven't made a conference final or SCF, then maybe, but not now.

I get annoyed with Crosby because of how everyone reacts to him, not because of anything he does. I think he gets way more attention than he should because there are other players in the NHL (not many, but there are) who are just as good if not better than him, and they do not get the same attention. That's my only beef with Crosby, and it's not anything he can even control.

Completely agree. I just get fed up hearing how Crosby the new face of the NHL and how he is going to single-handedly save the league. I think he has been very good for Pittsburgh. I think he does have a tremendous amount of natural talent. I am greatly bothered by any one person being touted as being the end all and be all of a team sport.

The Wings are a perfect example. The line of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Holmstrom get a lot credit, as they should, but our scoring right now is coming from Franzen for the most part. It is a team effort that wins games. You couldn't put Crosby out on the ice by himself and expect him to win.

[scottDFW 0]

FYI, Franzen is starting to get a lot of press in other markets now, too.

He has been singled out for heaps of praise by Dallas media covering your playoff games so far.

[redwing711 0]

Personally I think Crosby > Ovechkin. When it comes to Z and Datsyuk, I don't think either of them have the pure blinding offensive skill that Sid and Alex do. Both our guys are more complete players, but they have more experience too, so they should be. Datsyuk's almost 30(!) years old. Crosby's 20. So it stands to reason Datsyuk should be a more well-rounded player.

But Crosby at 27, 28, 29.....YIKES. And whether Crosby's better than Ovechkin doesn't matter from a league standpoint.....the debate's the thing. And it should bring the league loads of good pub.

But all that is speculation. At 27, 28, 29 Crosby could end up being injury prone like Forsberg. Forsberg still has a huge amount of natural talent, but if he's not on the ice, what good is that talent. You can only look at a players performance right now.

[esteef 2,679]

Bee, I agree with you for the most part. Except that I (and i've said it before) would not hesitate to call Pavel Datsyuk the best forward in the NHL.

Deficiencies? Does the guy really have any?

He has an unbelievably accurate wrist shot with good velocity.

He is arguably the best passer in the league.

He is arguably the best overall playmaker in the league. Nobody creates something out of nothing and evades defenders in tight corners to create space or find the open man than Dats

His board work is ridiculously good. His body positioning is fantastic and we get to see it every game as defenders bump into his rear end yet can't find a way to get the puck from him.

He's arguably the best defensive forward in the league (stats and Selke nominations concur)

He is strong on is skates and although not a checker can bring a heavy shoulder when its needed

He is arguably the best stickhandler in the league, especially at top speed

Most importantly though, his hockey sense is through the roof. He seemingly always knows what the right play is be it a pass or a dump in or the lift of an opponents stick or a subtle drop pass, etc...

Guys like AO, Crosby, etc...they work hard, they battle and fight through traffic and are unbelievable. And then you watch Datsyuk and the seemingly effortless nature to which he does everything. Nick Lidstrom has that same way about him and we call him the best defender and maybe the best player in the game. So I think it perfectly reasonable to think of Dats as the best forward/player in the game as he is so similar in how easy he makes the game look.

Great points and while I completely agree he's the best, you'll play hell trying to get the media to buy Dats over AO or Crosby. Like Melrose always says, "The only thing that would make him better is if he was in a Bruins sweater!"

Dats Rules!!!

esteef

[Majsheppard 203]

Not a fan.

[bluejackets61 0]

this comment doesn't pertain to anything about his hockey skills.

Right now I feel that Sidney Crosby looks like a 14 year old girl who didn't notice that she had gross facial hair and then some kid at school made fun of her and now she's deciding if she wants to have a sex revesal and live as a boy.

That's how I feel about Crosby right now.

[BeeRYCE 2]

At 27, 28, 29 Crosby could end up being injury prone like Forsberg.

Crosby isn't Swedish.

I'm only kidding! Kinda...

[IceMunkee 15]

I have been thinking alot on Sid. I am a pretty big fan but his recent play has disturbed me. Mostly because of the diving crap, there have been 3-4 blatent dives in the series and players that use thier star power to get calls bothers me. Ala Wayne.

[cjeder 0]

Of course Crosby is a disappointment. He was, after all, supposed to break all Gretzky's records, become the new, young face of the NHL, and his piss was rumored to cure cancer.

His failure to deliver in any of these areas wouldn't be a big deal if Bettman wasn't personally engraving his name on the cup for the next 10 seasons.

[stactum 4]

For some reason it feels like Malkin is actually better then Crosby, too bad he doesn't speak English.

[lfd250 1]

Ask yourself, How would he do in the West? Answer, not good. He wouldn't be the poster boy because it gets late and East Coaster don't stay up to watch. It's a lot tougher (once you get away from Philly). Read the comments from players who have moved East to West and they say it's A LOT Different. What happens when the next stud shows up. Remember when Mario showed up, Gretzky wasn't getting the calls or the numbers. May be I don't like him, because we're in the West and don't see him.

[Doggy 130]

One thing I found interesting is that he's not even close to leading the Pens in ice time this postseason. Heard on XM yesterday that Therrien's got four skaters on the team with more ice time than Crosby (which made me wonder if Therrien's giving that time to more defensively responsible players once they have the lead, etc.).

There are 3 skaters with more TOI - Gonchar, Malkin and Hossa. Gonchar you shouldn't even count he a D-man and a damn good one at that. No-one is close to his TOI. Malkin and Hossa kill penalties a little (Crosby never does). Crosby is certainly not one of the more defensively responsible players on his team and that IMO explains this just as you said.

[VM1138 1,921]

All I know is that I'm sick of the only radio commercials for the NHL I hear having to do with the Crosby and the Penguins' series against the Rangers and not any of the other series.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

There are 3 skaters with more TOI - Gonchar, Malkin and Hossa. Gonchar you shouldn't even count he a D-man and a damn good one at that. No-one is close to his TOI. Malkin and Hossa kill penalties a little (Crosby never does). Crosby is certainly not one of the more defensively responsible players on his team and that IMO explains this just as you said.

I have actually noticed his ice-time too, or lack of it. I am constantly bitching to my father during the games that Therrien doesn't play him enough. His response is that he is convinced his ankle still isn't 100%. Earlier in the year, Sid was killing some penalties, but I think Therrien does not want to risk Crosby blocking a shot off the ankle or anything. I would like to see him get more ice-time, but whatever Therrien is doing - namely rolling all four lines - is working.

I know its a lot of work and a ways off, but if us Wings fans haven't considered the trouble we may be in going against the Pens in the final, we should start thinking about it now. They look good. Damn good.