By Rob Rossi
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 1, 2007
The Landlord seemingly could not hide his happiness as he walked past The Kid on the morning of October 8, 2005. Mario Lemieux was hours from playing in his final home opener. His NHL career was down to its final three months. He presumably did not know all of that then, but he clearly knew something as the wide grin on his face suggested.
A lockout had wiped out the previous NHL season, robbing Lemieux of perhaps a chance to leave the game on his own terms. He was three days removed from his 40th birthday. He could no longer physically do what he had done nearly a decade earlier, when he returned from a one-year hiatus to dominate the NHL as only he could. Or five years back, when he returned from a retirement of three-plus seasons to, well, dominate the league as only he could.
Mentally, though, Lemieux was still sharp. His gift for anticipation still so rare that it rivaled a comic-book created superpower. Maybe this explained the smile he flashed while walking by the locker stall of 18-year-old Sidney Crosby, who was swarmed by members of the media -- from Pittsburgh and beyond.
Lemieux, arguably the most recognized professional athlete in this town's history, was an afterthought on this morning. Crosby was the main attraction. The temperature inside the Penguins' locker room had suddenly shifted from a cool 66 degrees to a hot 87, and Lemieux's smile offered a glimpse into his apparent realization.
Pittsburgh had moved on. The city now belonged to The Kid.
It still does. And if the Penguins have their way, Crosby will own this town for a long time.
Extending circumstances
Crosby is entering the final season of a three-year, entry-level contract he signed shortly after the Penguins made him the top pick in the 2005 NHL draft. All he has done since signing that deal -- which, with performance incentives, has paid him well (almost $4 million annually) over the past two years -- is halt the Penguins' six-season playoff drought, become the youngest athlete to lead any North American professional league in scoring and win acclaim by both his peers and the hockey media as the league's most valuable player.
He will turn 20 on Aug. 7. The Penguins can start talking today to his agent, Pat Brisson, about a lengthy contract extension, under terms of the league's collective bargaining agreement.
So, why might general manager Ray Shero place on the back burner a chance to lock up his newly minted captain and the league's most dynamic offensive weapon?
For starters, Crosby is not going anywhere until at least the summer of 2012, when he would become an unrestricted free agent following his seventh NHL season. Crosby is eligible for restricted free agency after this coming season, but the Penguins will match any offer sheet he might sign.
Of course, there is the not-so-small point that Crosby probably would not sign an offer sheet with another club, anyway.
"Pittsburgh is a place I really enjoy," Crosby said in May. "There are a lot of similarities to where I grew up in Cole Harbour (Nova Scotia), starting with the people. I relate to the people in Pittsburgh. They're just working-class people. When I came there, the way they welcomed me, the way they have treated me -- it was very sincere. That is what I grew up around, so I appreciate it."
Sound like a kid itching to explore his options?
After accepting the captaincy that was vacant since Lemieux's retirement, Crosby matter-of-factly downplayed any perceived rush to reach terms with the Penguins on an extension.
"It is something that will be talked about more and it will definitely be good to get the conversation going," Crosby said in June. "But I am more than confident that everybody will be happy with it."
Crosby possesses the clout necessary to walk into Shero's office this afternoon and demand the highest salary in the NHL. If he did, Shero would have little choice but to acquiesce.
However, Crosby has said he would never make such a demand. In fact, he has informed the Penguins that he would accept less money so Shero can afford to keep stars such as goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and centers Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal when they are due new deals in years to follow.
"The unique thing about us is that we have young guys making their mark," Crosby said. "The Cup is what you play for. That is what I am working for. I want to give Pittsburgh the best chance to bring back the Cup."
Staying put
The Crosby contract will get done before his entry-level deal expires -- not so much because the Penguins wish it but because Crosby genuinely has no desire to leave Pittsburgh.
After all, he is just getting to know the back roads to Mellon Arena from Lemieux's house in Sewickley. And there are some very Pittsburgh things he has to do yet -- take a birthday barhop along Carson Street on the South Side and eat a sandwich bearing his name, for example.
OK, perhaps those are poor examples. After all, Crosby is not Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Actually, Crosby's professed fondness for this city might have everything to do with the fact that no matter how many times he hoists the Stanley Cup over his head while wearing a Penguins sweater, Crosby will never be bigger than Ben, so to speak.
"This city is the perfect balance for me: I can go places and see things and it is not a swarming atmosphere. The people are respectful of my privacy," Crosby said. "Pittsburgh has a more relaxed atmosphere. It makes me comfortable.
"When I want to go out here I just blend in. It is really different than other cities. The biggest thing is respect. The people here have a lot of respect for me. They treat me normal."
Normalcy is important to any professional athlete. But in football-frenzied towns such as Pittsburgh and Denver, normalcy is easier to come by for NHL skaters -- even stars of Crosby and Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic's stature.
Joe Sakic
Sakic has spent his entire 18-year career with the Avalanche, though six of those seasons were in Quebec City, where the Avalanche was known as the Nordiques. No matter the team name or location, Sakic described himself as "fortunate" to play for only one organization.
He can relate to why Crosby might wish as much for himself.
"If you have an opportunity to do it, you want to do it," Sakic said. "If the organization treats you well, like the Avalanche has for me, you want to be part of that. I grew up with this organization, it is where I started and where I want to finish."
Sakic said he has read columnists opine that the league would be better served if Crosby played in a major hockey market such as New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto or Montreal. Clearly, Sakic does not buy into such belief.
"It is good for the league that he is in Pittsburgh. Places like Pittsburgh need stars just as much as New York and Los Angeles and Toronto," Sakic said. "Not everybody can play in the big cities and markets.
"It was good for the league that in Colorado we were able to keep our stars together for so long and make consistent runs at the Cup. It would be good for the league if Pittsburgh could do that, too.
"There is something to be said for being able to identify specific players with one organization. When people think of the Penguins, Sidney Crosby comes to mind immediately. It was that way when Mario played, too. And that is as it should be."
Kid's playpen
Upon drafting Crosby in 2005, Penguins officials privately referred to their proposed new arena as "The House That Sid Will Build." There was more than a hint of truth in that tag.
"You see a guy like Sidney -- you always have to come back to him," Tampa Bay star Vincent Lecavalier said. "To do what he has done is pretty incredible. It's something that is nice to see, because if he was not in Pittsburgh I am not sure there would be a team there."
Vincent Lecavalier
Lecavalier, who this past season paced the league with 52 goals, has spent each of his eight NHL seasons with the Lightning. Though linked to trade speculation nearly each offseason, he recently reiterated his desire to finish where he started.
"When you get drafted by a team and you come to that city, like Sidney with Pittsburgh and me in Tampa, you want to feel a connection," Lecavalier said. "Sidney clearly feels a connection with Pittsburgh. We have talked about it. Pittsburgh is where he is basically growing up, like with me in Tampa. That stays with you. It makes it hard to think about leaving because the place becomes like home."
The Penguins' new home will probably open in 2010. By then, they might have another Cup banner to hang from the rafters. Conceivably, a statue paying tribute to Lemieux will prove a popular gathering place for Penguins fans converge on the facility.
Crosby could not contain his happiness in May when presented with such a possibility.
"That would be awesome," Crosby said. "We want to have a lot of winning years in that place. It is going to be our home for a long time."
The same might be said for Pittsburgh and Crosby.
Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5635.
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