Sidney Crosby: 6 Pittsburgh Penguins Who Will Need to Step Up in His Absence

Leave it to the monster that is the concussion to stop a player who appeared locomotive-like cold in his tracks.

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins spoke publicly for the first time in over four months today about the concussion that has sidelined him since January.  Sid and his doctors claim that he is roughly 90 percent recovered, and that a return to the game is "imminent."

Exactly how imminent is now the question.

When pressed for a rough time line, Dr. Michael Collins, the director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's concussion study unit, said that he had "no earthly idea" when Crosby could be set to play.  But hockey season moves on regardless.

The Penguins performed above and beyond expectations while missing Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Crosby for long stretches last season.  The team still managed one of the best years in team history, and that has to be reassuring to Pittsburgh fans and players alike.

A select group of players will need to step up again for the Pens to be able to turn the trick twice, however.  Here are six guys that must play to their full penitential and then some to keep Pittsburgh's season on track while Crosby continues his recovery.

Evgeni Malkin

For a few years after 2005 while the Crosby vs. Ovechkin thing was really taking off, Evgeni Malkin actually cost his teammate a few votes in the debate.  Fans who said Ovie was better claimed that Sid may not even be the best player on his own team, let alone the NHL.

Since then, the gap between Malkin and Crosby has widened a bit, and a series of injuries has kept the former top-three player down.

Malkin has been training hardcore this summer and even released videos of these workouts to NHL.com, as if to tell the hockey world that he is back and better than ever.  My gut tells me that we're in for a special season from him.

With Crosby sidelined, he'll need to be the best player on the ice for the Penguins, and he will be.  

James Neal

James Neal was acquired in a trade with Dallas to be Crosby's winger for life.  Or at least for the duration of his contract.  He's a big body with a bit of power forward floating around in him, and he'll need to utilize that in full while his center is on the mend.

Neal never really got rolling after his trade to Pittsburgh, but that didn't shine through because so many other players stepped up their games in light of all the injuries to the personnel of the Pens.

That won't fly for a second consecutive season.

He's had plenty of time to settle in and learn the nuances of the system that Pittsburgh runs—landing on a team that is the middle of a transition from an offensive to a defensive system can't be easy on a new guy, on top of getting to know everyone, feeling out the city and so on.

Look for Neal to try and come out of the gates hot—a little confidence could go a long way in this case.

Jordan Staal

When all three of their top centers are healthy, the Penguins boast players who could skate on the top line of most teams in the NHL.  Jordan Staal is no exception.

While he is under-appreciated to a degree because of the long shadows cast by Malkin and Crosby, Staal is still a supremely talented, huge center that can rack up the points if needed or shut down the opposition's top line.

He'll need to do a little of both with Crosby out.

Staal also spent much of last season injured, and was a bit of a gift from the hockey gods when he finally made it back into the lineup.  He put up 30 points in 42 games—11 of those points being goals.  That same clip will be necessary if the Penguins are going to compete for the top spot in the East. 

Tyler Kennedy

Out of all the players that found a new gear in Crosby's absence, Tyler Kennedy may have been the most surprising and impressive.

With the extra ice time, the young center added 20 points to his previous season's totals, and notched 20 goals for the first time in his career.  With Sid out, all of the centers get a bump up in the depth chart, and Kennedy—continuing his growth as a 50-point, 25-goal player—would go a long way in helping the Penguins stay on track.

Then when Crosby comes back, Pittsburgh will boast four centers that can do damage on the score sheet—something not many teams in the league can claim. 

Steve Sullivan

Steve Sullivan was a 60- to 70-point player in his prime, but injuries have prevented him from playing up to his full potential the last few years.  While that was a negative for the Predators, that means he's played less hockey than his age entails, and he could have a bit more left in the tank for the Penguins.

Even with Crosby in the lineup, Sullivan was a guy who could get a few looks on the second or third line.  Him finding a home there is more important now.  

If chemistry develops between him and a few other players, then a 40- or 50-point season might not be totally out of the question.

Even if he doesn't top off to that degree, Sullivan is a smooth-skating and shifty player from the left wing—a position where the Penguins are a little thin anyway—that can be dangerous and make things happen often enough to add another dimension to Pittsburgh's attack.  

Marc-Andre Fleury

Coming fresh off his most statistically dominant season yet, Marc-Andre Fleury will play a huge role in keeping the Penguins going in Crosby's absence.  He was a large part of the reason that Pittsburgh was able to stay towards the top of the conference last season, and he'll need to be just as good in 2011-2012.