Sidney Crosby Is NHL’s Best Player In 2016
Some fans, I’m sure, were shocked that the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby wasn’t an All-Star this season. After all, shouldn’t he be an All-Star every season? That’s the way it feels, doesn’t it?
Not only should he be an All-Star but we still consider him the best hockey player on the planet. It’s become painfully obvious that not all hockey fans hold him in the same regard however.
But then, when you have fans wondering where his game has gone, Crosby steps right back up and makes the whole hockey world take notice.
To date in the 2016 calendar year, no player in the NHL has more goals than Sidney Crosby. Nor does any NHL player have more points than Sid in 2016. He’s at the top of the heap.
He’s not just accumulating points either. Yes, he does have a 10 game point streak. Yes, he did just record points number 900, 901 and 902. But look how he’s getting those points. Or rather, look when he’s getting those points.
Penguins down 2-1 against the top team in the Atlantic Division. Time for Crosby to get a point, and he does. Penguins are in a back and forth offensive battle with the Ottawa Senators in their first game after the All-Star break. Offensive battle? Time for the world’s best to be the world’s best. Hat trick for Crosby.
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We all also know about his intangibles. We see it every night. Jeff Zatkoff comes in to relieve Marc-Andre Fleury against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Who is right there skating with Zatkoff as he steps onto the ice? Yes, it’s the team’s leader, Sidney Crosby. Talking Zatkoff up, giving him guidance, boosting his confidence. And then Zatkoff goes and makes a potential “save of the year“.
For the Penguins to be in the mix for the playoff hunt this season, Crosby has to be at his best. And he certainly has been at his best in 2016. That’s inarguable.
He’s not yet leading the league in points per game for the 2015-16 season. He’s done so in the last three full consecutive NHL seasons. And four out of the last five. As of this post, Crosby is twelfth overall in points per game for the season. If he keeps up the pace he has started in 2016, he’ll be quickly climbing up that leader list, and the Penguins as a team will likewise continue to climb up the Atlantic Division standings.