What will the Pittsburgh Penguins do with Sidney Crosby? -NHL Special Feature
It was certainly a sad day for the Pittsburgh Penguins after Sidney Crosby had to exit the game again with what seemed like recurring symptoms of the severe concussion he faced earlier this year in January after two consecutive hits to the head.
Crosby announced on Monday evening, December 12, 2011, that he will be going out indefinitely due to the recurring symptoms which could have been caused by a hit sustained by Boston Bruins' player, David Krejci, who hit the player on the sideboards, earlier on December 5, 2011.
According to the 24-year-old, it is certainly a disappointing situation but more confusing than it is problematic.
"I don't know," Crosby said, when asked by reporters which hit caused the problem. "I mean, I know I got hit in the head [by Krejci], but it was pretty - I felt like I was pretty good after that, didn't feel like it was anything too major. But if I had to look at one hit - if anything, it was probably that one."
Pittsburgh ended the 2010-2011 National Hockey League (NHL) by making it into the playoffs without both its star players, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but the sad part was that despite all their hard work, Penguins were eliminated in the first round.
If they had Crosby and Malkin on the team in the postseason, most probably, Pittsburgh would have ended on a different note.
Now that the 2011-2012 NHL regular season is going on in full force, they still have Malkin at the moment, who himself made a minor disappearance after the first three games due to a nagging knee which he had surgery on last season.
With concussion related problems, we have seen that it has been the reason for many players to end their careers in the past, and being a top-notch player, Sidney Crosby must be extra careful or it could also eventually result in the same thing.
“I have to make sure with these sorts of things that I’m careful,” Crosby added. “You have to listen to your body.”
At the moment, Crosby has participated in eight games in total with the Pittsburgh Penguins thus far and has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists), with a plus minus rating of seven and eight minutes in penalty time.
It could also be noticed that many players were trying to achieve more physical contact than necessary during their contests, which might be a conspiracy against one of the league’s best performers to force an early exit and handicap the Penguins yet again.
Having been out for 10 plus months, we have seen that the Pittsburgh Penguins are able to keep themselves active and above during the season. It is primarily during the postseason in the NHL Playoffs that they require the talent and captaincy of Sidney Crosby on the ice along with them.
As a personal opinion on the matter, it would be better for Crosby to take this time out early in the season and rest enough to ensure that he will be back for action, later on when his team demands it.
Instead of going out now with something more serious, Sidney Crosby will surely be able to return for action in the later months of the season, benefiting not only himself, but the franchise as well that depends on him greatly.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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