Sooo... does Sidney Crosby play on the penalty kill this year?

Question

Or SHOULD he?

Everyone yapped about this last season. Coach Michel Therrien was asked about it more times than I can count. I can imagine that this season, if Crosby isn't on the penalty kill and especially if he's off to a great start, people will be asking early on why he's not on the penalty kill. I'm surprised I haven't heard all kinds of people (fans, media, etc.) talking about this yet. I guess everyone's just preoccupied or something.

I'm not going to explain my opinion because I want YOUR unbiased opinion. Yeah, that means none of that "NO, because that's more time he'll be whining, AHAHAHA!". (Lame.)

I will say where I stand though: NAY!

DEVILS4HISTORY - Check my questions. The last Sidney Crosby-centric question I asked was actually making fun of the puckbunnies who ask questions here about the personal lives of Sidney Crosby and other players. Just FOUR questions ago, I asked something about MARTIN BRODEUR.

I didn't make "a big fuss" over Crosby, call him the Great One, etc... I just asked if he should be on the penalty kill because he isn't, which isn't nonsense. It actually takes some analytical thought, which obviously you couldn't be bothered with.

Doesn't giving me an answer that has "NOTHING TO DO WITH THE QUESTION!" as you put it yourself, strike you as just as worthless as people asking puckbunny questions? Worthless is worthless.

DEVILS4HISTORY - Ahh, that's what I mean---go "teach" them a "lesson" somewhere else, like in your OWN question. Not in someone's question who ISN'T doing that! =/

Answer 1

Why exhaust your best offensive weapon by making him play the kill??? Especially when you have such a shorthanded weapon in Jordan Staal. The only thing I can see coming out of that is injury, Sid is a competitor and PK'ers are expected to block shots. Do you really want your franchise taking lasers from the point off his ankles?

Doesn't make much sense to me.

Mike- of course you let your best players play the PK in the playoffs when you are down, there is no stretch there and I am sure they will lean on Sid if that happens. The only reason that Mario was even out there was because they were down and were in desperate need of offense in a do or die situation. Its not like Mario made a habit of that in the regular season. All you need to do is look at Pittsburgh's regular season record without Sid in the line-up to realize that the risk of injury is definitely not worth the reward, if in fact it would even reward the Pens to have him out there.

Jude- leading the league in points is not earning your keep? I bet you thought the Great One should have spent more time on the PK too? Not every player has to or needs to be that guy, there are plenty of role players for those spots. Why not let Sid do what he does best? Its good for the game and its dumb to chance shortening the career of its most predominate player.

But hey, put him out there, I am a Wings fan and if he goes down, it has little to zero effect on me. I am sure the Flyers and Ranger fans would love to see him waisting his skills and energy blocking shots.

Answer 2

I don't think I'd want the face of my franchise on the PK most of the time and here's why:

Penalty killing is about hussle and grit. Traits Crosby has but I don't want him getting worn out running around playing defense, I want him fresh, after a penalty is over, to be out there against 2nd or 3rd defensive pairings while the top sets of the other team's PP (usually the better defensemen) are resting.

I also don't want him blocking shots (the forward's main job on the PK is to keep the point men from teeing it up). How dumb does a coach look if his best player broke his foot while playing on the PK with his team in the lead?

Can he do it? Totally.
Should they use him when down a goal late in a game? Probably.
Should they use him all the time? No way.

Answer 3

I would like to see it happen. One of the keys to being a complete player is defensive ability, and seeing Crosby killing penalties would only enhance his worth on the Penguins, as well as his play on the other side of the puck(aside from already being top scorer/passer/captain/marketing tool). Remember, Mario also played a little on the PK, and it didn't hurt him in the stats department as we all know.

Remember: more PK time means more points, and more points mean...more puck bunnies!

Edit: Zam's got a point, to an extent. Maybe Sidney Crosby could be put in PK situations if the Penguins are in a losing situation. However, I still hold on to my theory. Crosby may need to go the Steve Yzerman route someday (and yes, I'm thinking Crosby is more Yzerman than Gretzky every day).

Answer 4

Speaking as a Flyers fan, I vote to put him out on the first PK unit every time the opportunity arises.

Speaking as a hockey fan, I agree with Zam and think they should pick and chose their spots. For example when they are down in a game, have a critical game regarding standings or when Jordan Staal is unavailable because of his ARD classes.

Seriously, the Penguins had the league leader in shorthanded goals last season. If the need arises for them to use Crosby in shorthanded situation they should use them, but given the overall quality of their young team, I don't really see the need on a consistent basis.

Answer 5

Crosby's great on the PK and I'd be surprised if anyone even dared to call him a complainer. He's past that rookie season, and he grew. He's a captain now; no one should bother him with what he had done in the past.
Crosby can play on the PK, but I'd much rather see Therrien play him and Malkin on the offense more than we see him shorthanded.
Leave the shorthanded work to Staal. That's his time to shine.

Answer 6

I remember Mario Lemieux in the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, they were playing the Devils, and I think it was game 5, the Pens were down by 2 or 3, and the Devils got a powerplay, and I remember how Lemieux was out there killing it off, he blocked a shot point blank, right off his knee, that's dedication man. I don't think that Crosby should be out there killing penalties all the time, but he should definitely show that he's capable of doing it. I say give him a shot and let him show how (or if) he can kill penalties and be as dedicated as Lemieux.

Answer 7

The coach has already stated that both Crosby and Malkin will see more ice-time in short handed situations in 2007-2008 than they saw in 2006-2007.

All the great stars in the game were able to log time in all situations. If Crosby wants to be considered among the greats, he will have to adjust, and I'm sure he will.

Answer 8

Well if they don't put him out then at least he can put all his efforts into going on the attack. If I ran the team and had Staal already Sid would get all his minutes on the PP or at even strength.

Zam has it pretty well covered, however I do need to add the Grfetzky killed a lot of penalties. It was simple if he had the puck the other team wasn't going to score. Don't believe check who holds records for most SH goals.

Answer 9

No, why should he. I honestly don't see him as a defensive player like that. Your Penalty killers should be your best defensive players for the most part. A guy like Jordan Staal is just a major advantage. Anytime you have a guy with a long reach who can play defense and go score like that is great for Penalty kill.

Answer 10

I wouldn't use him there much, he is much better on offense than the defense needed for penalty killing. Its a choice between using him as an average PK player or as an outstanding Powerplay and 5 on 5 player.

As for shorthanded goals we have one of Thunder Bay's two favorite convicts for that.