CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR
Sidney Crosby will need a light truck to haul the Hart, Pearson and Art Ross trophies home. He said he was happiest about getting the respect of his peers.
Crosby picked by his peers as the NHL's most outstanding player; wins two other top awards
Jun 15, 2007 04:30 AM
Paul Hunter
TORONTO STAR
SPORTS REPORTER
It's difficult to pinpoint precisely when Sidney Crosby became a bona fide NHL superstar.
Perhaps it was that six-point night against Philadelphia in December that catapulted him to the top of the scoring race, a lead he would never relinquish; maybe it was when he gave it his all in the playoffs despite a broken foot; or it was when an 11-inch vinyl action figure of the teenager hit the toy shelves; or when he became the youngest captain in league history; or when the drop of a ping-pong ball saved a franchise.
Crosby had secured his place in Canada's hockey landscape before he had a team. But the moment he had acceptance arrived last night.
Crosby, criticized in his rookie year and dogged by his fellow NHL players for being a yappy, uppity, whining diver who didn't know his place, stepped up at the Elgin Theatre to accept the only award voted on by those same players.
Only 19 and incapable of growing a decent playoff beard, the Pittsburgh Penguins' sophomore centre was handed the Lester B. Pearson Award, presented by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as the best player in the NHL in a vote of his peers.
Crosby also picked up the Hart Trophy after the media voted him most valuable to his team to add to the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer. He was only the seventh player to pick up that impressive hat trick and the youngest in league history.
Sid the Kid, although he qualified it by saying there's "no right answer" as to which he was more honoured to receive, conceded the vote from the players had special meaning.
"Getting that respect, I guess you could say, from the guys you play against each night. That's probably one of the ultimate compliments you could get," Crosby said. "I'm not downplaying the media's opinion by any means, but it's certainly a huge honour to get that respect."
It wasn't given easily. Crosby had to work for it, reigning in some the exuberance that riled opponents in his rookie season.
"I tried to channel my emotion a little bit more to what I can control," he said. "I'm not going to stand here and say one day I'll be up for the Lady Byng because I know I won't be. But I think if guys see that you come to play hard every night, if they see you're out there doing your best and doing it in a good nature, that's the way to earn it. That just comes with experience as well."
Don Cherry gave voice to criticism of Crosby during his freshman season, when he said he was a hot dog who wasn't worthy of the "A" on his jersey. Players lobbed grenades as well, including Peter Forsberg calling the native of Cole Harbour, N.S., a "diver."
"His first year, Sidney faced a lot of adversity," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said.
"But I really believe this year, Sidney Crosby got a lot of respect, not only from the players in Pittsburgh but from his peers in the NHL ... with the way he acted on the ice, the way he handled himself off the ice. I think this was a huge step in his career. He earned a lot of respect."
Therrien said it wasn't easy for Crosby to achieve the balance of playing hard every night while keeping his emotions in check.
"He got criticized sometimes because he had too much passion. I remember his first year after getting criticized a few times by his peers, he just tried to play the game, but that was not him. I say, hey get back, show me those Rocket Richard eyes. That's the way you're going to be able to perform."
He did and, as Joe Sakic put it last night, "He's the face of the league now. He earns everything he gets."
And, last night, that was a trophy case full of hardware.
ALL-STAR TEAM
Sidney Crosby, C
Dany Heatley, RW
Alex Ovechkin, LW
Nicklas Lidstrom, D
Scott Niedermayer, D
Martin Brodeur, G
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Evgeni Malkin, F
Paul Stastny, F
Jordan Staal, C
Matt Carle, D
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D
Mike Smith, G
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