By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
NEWARK, N.J. -- Sidney Crosby had craved this phone call for years.
He wanted it desperately from the time he watched Team Canada -- captained by a guy who would become his landlord a few years later -- win a gold medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.
But when word finally arrived yesterday morning that he had been selected to represent his country at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Crosby wasn't there to hear it.
It seems he was tending to a more pressing concern in a room deep inside the Prudential Center, where the Penguins were preparing for their game against New Jersey last night.
"We were in a meeting," Crosby said. "So I actually missed the first call."
Ivan Skretarev/Associated Press
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby played for Canada in the 2006 IIHF World Championships.
No problem. It's not like Steve Yzerman, Team Canada's executive director and Crosby's boyhood idol, was going to give Crosby's spot to the next name on his list because Crosby wasn't around to answer his phone.
Besides, if not being present for Yzerman's original call would have cost Crosby his place on the squad, Team Canada would have had to replace goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, too, because he was attending the same session.
Not surprisingly, then, Fleury found out the same way Crosby did that he will be spending a significant portion of February in British Columbia.
"Sid checked his phone and had a voicemail," Fleury said. "So I ran in to check it out [on his own phone] and had a nice voicemail."
In addition to Crosby, Canada's forwards are Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Eric Staal, Jonathan Toews, Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Patrice Bergeron, Brenden Morrow and Mike Richards.
Conspicuously absent from that list is Penguins center Jordan Staal, who was in a cluster of capable players vying for one of the final spots on the roster.
"Jordan Staal is a guy I'd want on my team," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "But having said that, I know there are a number of great candidates."
Staal acknowledged that, too, although it didn't seem to give him much consolation.
"The opportunity, I thought, was there," he said. "I didn't say I thought I should be on the team or anything like that, but it was definitely a moment where I thought I could make it.
"There's a lot of great players on that team who deserve to be there. I have plenty of years ahead of me, I guess."
So does Fleury, which might be why he seems willing to accept however the coaching staff divides the goaltending workload between him, Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo.
"I'll go, and whatever they tell me to do, I'll do," Fleury said. "I'll be there, happy to do it."
Crosby had been widely considered as a candidate to captain his country's team. Instead, Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer will get the "C," while Crosby, Iginla and defenseman Chris Pronger will be alternate captains.
"There's a lot of guys who are more than capable of being the captain," Crosby said.
Crosby and Fleury will be joined in Vancouver by teammates Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, who will play for Russia, and defenseman Brooks Orpik is a good bet to end up on Team USA.
Some might think that facing a teammate in such a high-stakes competition could be awkward, but Gonchar dismissed any concerns about that.
"We're all professionals," he said. "It's not like it's the first time we'll be doing it.
"Sometimes you're playing against a friend you grew up with, sometimes one of your partners gets traded and the next day you're playing against him. At some point in time, you've done it already."
Still, it could be interesting if Canada and Russia collide as the tournament progresses. Russia and Sweden are widely viewed as the biggest threats to the favored Canadians, with the United States as a dark horse.
Given the ferocious rivalry that has existed between Canada and Russia since the Series at the Summit in 1972, Crosby said he doesn't expect to be trading verbal jabs with Malkin between now and the Games.
"It's probably something we don't even want to joke about because we realize the rivalry there," he said. "It's way beyond me and him. It goes back before he and I were even born."
Longer, even, than Crosby spent waiting for the phone call that came yesterday morning.
Dave Molinari can be reached at dmolinari@post-gazette.com.
Penguins Plus, a blog by Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson, is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 31, 2009 at 12:00 am
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