MILAN – Team Canada is not ready to name another captain.
International rules would require Canada head coach Jon Cooper to stitch the “C” on another player’s jersey if Sidney Crosby, who suffered a lower-body injury in the quarterfinal win over Czechia Wednesday night, is unable to compete for the remainder of the Olympic tournament.
Canada faces Finland in the first of Friday’s two semifinal games.
“Sid is by no means ruled out of the tournament,” Cooper said after a well-attended optional practice Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve got the best of the best looking at him …We’re taking this day by day. And we’re not going to put anyone in harm’s way. But if he can play, he’s definitely going to. We’ll know more in again in 24 hours.’’
Following a hard hit from Czechia’s Radko Gudas in the second period, Crosby fell awkwardly on his right leg.
Gudas and Martin Necas then sandwiched the 38-year-old into the boards shortly after.
Crosby was in visible pain on the bench before he retreated to the locker room for the remainder of the game.
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Cooper said the Canada captain delivered a motivating message to his teammates before they took the ice for the third period, in which Nick Suzuki tied it up with just under 3 ½ minutes left in regulation to force overtime.
It sounded like Crosby was undergoing further imaging on his knee while Canada was on the ice Thursday.
“I don’t even know what words to use,” said Drew Doughty, who is competing in his third Olympic Games with Crosby. “I mean, he’s the guy that showed all the young guys, young players growing up, what it means to be Canadian. What it means to be a Canadian hockey player. Getting to play with him, I even feel that being a teammate of his. So, that just shows you how special it is.”
There’s a good chance that Connor McDavid takes the captaincy torch from Crosby if the Penguins star is unable to play.
McDavid is leading the entire tournament with 11 points (two goals, nine assists), which is tied for the most by an NHL player in the Olympics.
Serving as alternate captain in his Olympic debut, along with Cale Makar, McDavid became the only player in hockey history to have at least three three-point games at both the Olympics and in a Stanley Cup Final.
“I think Sid is just himself, and it doesn’t need to be anything more or less,” McDavid said. “I think everybody’s different in their own way. Obviously, everybody goes about things differently. That being said, Sid’s an unbelievable leader, and everybody here watches him and is trying to learn off him.”
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