Mr. Hockey Stands Up for Sidney Crosby

Surfing the various sports websites on Friday afternoon, I was floored and felt pretty special that Mr. Hockey himself (Gordie Howe) believes exactly what I said in an earlier blog pertaining to how Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby didn’t snub the Detroit Red Wings.

I still believe, as I wrote last weekend, that when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup at Joe Louis Arena last Friday, Crosby became overwhelmed with elation and became lost in the moment.

I also believe, that being the kind of person who has trouble saying no, Crosby was late getting in line due to the various media outlets who came on the ice trying to get a sound bite.

While scanning the sites, I became intrigued by an article on tsn.ca. In the article, Howe was quoted as saying that he believes people are being too hard on Crosby for being late in shaking hands, and as a result missed opposing captain Nicklas Lindstrom.

“He got caught up,” Howe said, talking about the jubilation of winning. “He will mature. He’s a good kid.”

This 21 year-old became the youngest to captain a team to Stanley Cup victory last week, and has always been a great spokesman for the league. He has been involved with countless charities since turning professional and has a squeaky clean reputation.

My question remains, however, as to why Red Wings' player Kris Draper said Crosby snubbed Lindstrom, and not a handful of other Wings players including Chris Osgood and coach Mike Babcock, who were all still on the ice when Crosby went to shake hands?

Howe, who carved out a hall of fame career spent mostly with the Red Wings, believes that people have to take into account that Crosby is really very shy.

“He’s too damn shy,” Howe, who recently visited with Crosby, said as a reason for what might have made him late shaking hands. “During the five minutes I talked to him I basically said, ‘Don’t let anything bother you, just keep on the right road. You’re on the right road and you’re doing a hell of a lot of good jobs and good luck.’ He just stared at me, turned around and walked away.”

With regards to Crosby’s potential, Howe, who is now 81 years-old, has been very impressed. “I’m not going to say he knows everything, but he’s getting there fast,” Howe said. “A couple more years if he stays healthy, who knows?”

The one thing that bothers me about Draper ripping Crosby for being late in shaking hands, is why didn’t the Red Wing players who were waiting either skate over to Crosby or wait like the Penguins did last year to congratulate the Penguins captain?

I still remember the pictures on television from last spring showing the dejected Penguins waiting and waiting on the ice to shake hands. I believe that Mr. Hockey himself was one hundred percent accurate when saying that Crosby didn’t snub the Red Wings on purpose.

He finally captured a life long dream and he can be excused for feeling overwhelmed at that particular moment.