Crosby’s Olympic Gold Medal Game Participation Remains Question Mark

Team Canada's injured captain Sidney Crosby may miss Sunday's Olympic gold medal matchup against the United States due to a knee injury sustained earlier this week. Coach Jon Cooper says the decision hasn't been made yet, but the team won't risk playing Crosby unless he can contribute fully.

MILAN (AP) — Team Canada’s coaching staff remains undecided about whether their injured captain Sidney Crosby will take the ice for Sunday’s Olympic gold medal showdown against the United States, head coach Jon Cooper announced Saturday.

The 38-year-old center participated in Saturday’s practice session, though media access was restricted to keep Crosby’s condition under wraps. The veteran player brings impressive credentials to the team, including two previous Olympic gold medals and three Stanley Cup championships, making his potential absence significant.

“Obviously we’d love to have him,” Cooper stated. “He won’t put himself in harm’s way, and he’s not going to put the team in harm’s way.”

Crosby exited Wednesday evening’s quarterfinal match against Czechia after suffering what appeared to be a right knee injury and remained sidelined during Friday’s semifinal victory over Finland. In his absence, Connor McDavid assumed captaincy duties and recorded an assist on Nathan MacKinnon’s game-winning goal with just 35.2 seconds left on the clock.

While Olympic regulations permit teams to suit up 13 forwards compared to the NHL’s limit of 12, Cooper dismissed the idea of having Crosby dress simply for ceremonial purposes.

“No. No, it’s too important,” Cooper explained. “We don’t want to have somebody in there as an inspiration when we could have a player that could be capable of helping. You never know if guys are going to get hurt in the game. He wouldn’t want to do that, either.”

Cooper referenced Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli, both selected for the Olympic roster but who remained home due to health concerns that would have limited their effectiveness. Defenseman Josh Morrissey has already been declared unavailable due to injury.

“When it comes to the flag, nobody’s getting in the way,” Cooper said. “If they’re not capable of giving what they think is optimal effort, they don’t want to put the country at harm. They understand what we have here.”

Team Canada mounted a comeback from a two-goal disadvantage against Finland, driven partly by their desire to secure Crosby another opportunity to compete in what might be his final Olympic appearance.

“We’ve done that, and we’ll see,” McDavid commented. “He’s been around a lot. Obviously, he’s been extremely positive: still contributing, even though he didn’t play last game, but still being the leader he is.”

Nick Suzuki, who stepped into the lineup between Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, appears positioned to retain that role in the championship game should Crosby remain unavailable. Suzuki observed that Crosby “looked really good out there on the ice” during practice and expressed hope that the respected captain will be cleared to play.

“It’d mean a lot to him and probably us,” Suzuki said. “He’s such a big leader, big voice. Everyone looks up to him. It’d be awesome if he could play.”