Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby will be in a familiar role for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Crosby was officially named the team captain for Canada’s men’s ice hockey team for the fourth straight international competition.
Crosby helped lead Canada to gold medals in the 2010 Vancouver Games and the 2014 Sochi Games. He was one of the first players named to the Canadian team for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China, but he didn’t compete after the NHL’s decision not to attend the Olympics due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus and its impact on scheduling.
More recently, Crosby was a captain for Team Canada in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. He finished with five points as Canada went on to win the tournament, defeating Team USA 3-2 in overtime in the final.
Despite being in his 21st season in the NHL, Crosby has continued to play at a high level. The 38-year-old has played in 80 games or more in each of the last three seasons. He’s played all 56 games for the 29-15-12 Penguins this year, and he leads the team with 59 points, recording 27 goals and 32 assists. No other player on the team has produced 50 points.
Crosby and Team Canada will begin their pursuit of an Olympic gold medal in a matchup against Czechia on Thursday.