COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron will share the spotlight again Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. Hockey fans with a sense of history and appreciation for the 200-foot game will understand the significance of the meeting.
As for those prisoners of the moment, the ones living for the next Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon GIFs, they should take a few minutes out of their day to pay respect to a pair of the most complete players the NHL has produced.
Crosby, 33, and Bergeron, 35, aren’t on the verge of retirement, but the future is no longer as close as the end for two driving forces behind Canada’s golden generation. They have shined as rivals and sparkled as teammates, outlasting the best the United States, Russia and Sweden could offer. They have raised Stanley Cups and beaten back the dark forces of concussions that threatened their careers.
Captains of their respective teams and ambassadors of the league, Crosby and Bergeron have given themselves completely to the game. And in this condensed season, they have dragged injury-riddled clubs into playoff position once again. Crosby and the Penguins are winners in six of the last eight games. Bergeron and the Bruins are riding a six-game heater.
Crosby, of course, is the bigger star, hockey’s equivalent to LeBron James. He entered the league in 2005 with ridiculous hype and managed to exceed it en route to winning three Cups with a few good years remaining.
Bergeron was never blessed with Crosby’s flash or game-breaking talent. Instead, he became his generation’s Ron Francis, if not in style, at least in substance. There’s nothing Bergeron can’t do as one of the NHL’s consummate two-way forwards.
Together, Crosby and Bergeron have won at every level internationally, first teaming up for a 2005 world junior championship. They have added two Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014) and a World Cup of Hockey (2016) title to Canada’s rich portfolio.
They also have used each other as sounding boards in recovering from devastating concussions. While Crosby is forever linked with Alex Ovechkin, his shared history with Bergeron is likely more fulfilling.
Even into their 30s, the two centers have proven capable of leading their franchises. Crosby has enjoyed a terrific under-the-radar season at a time when McDavid, MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews and Artemi Panarin generate the headlines. Meanwhile, Bergeron has kept the Bruins in the playoff hunt, alongside linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, propping up a club that’s lacked secondary scoring.
There’s a chance the Penguins and Bruins could meet in the postseason’s opening round, affording Crosby and Bergeron another showcase, but playoff seeding is far from decided even at this late stage.
So take some time Sunday to watch these future Hall-of-Famers play against each other. At the far ends of their primes, they remain two of the best the game has known.
YOUR TURN: In a sports world obsessed with the “next great stars” is proper reverence still being paid to Crosby and Bergeron?