Canadian Captaincy Transition at Olympics
MILAN – The official passing of the Canadian captaincy took place during the Olympic semi-finals.
It was just before the game that Team Canada found out Sidney Crosby would be sidelined due to a lower-body injury he picked up in the quarterfinals.
Luckily for Canada, the transition plan had been brewing for some time.
Connor McDavid donned a red and white jersey marked with “C” for the first time. In a thrilling match against Finland, he notched both the opening goal and an assist, playing a critical role in Canada’s 3-2 victory that secured the gold medal.
“I’m just keeping the ‘C’ warm for Sid,” he remarked.
It was quite a memorable debut for McDavid at the Olympics.
Following a two-assist game, the 29-year-old established a record for NHL players with 13 points in this tournament.
McDavid has been performing exceptionally since arriving in Milan, and he really rose to the occasion, especially when the team found themselves down 2-0.
He became the first active NHL player, apart from Crosby, to wear the captain’s “C” for Canada at the Olympics since Scott Niedermayer in 2010.
“This means a lot,” McDavid said. “Hopefully, we’ll see [Crosby] back here on Sunday. I believe it was tough to be without him. Watching from the sidelines felt like a long time. Representing our country means so much, both as a team and in a sport we all love.”
Canada’s head coach, John Cooper, couldn’t confirm whether Crosby would make it for the gold medal match against the United States. Initially, when Crosby was injured during a hit from the Czech Republic’s Radko Gudas, Cooper had said the Hall of Famer was “by no means unavailable” for the tournament.
2026 Winter Olympics
It’s quite hard to envision the Canadian team competing for gold without their Captain Canada.
Crosby’s absence became a rallying point for the team; they were determined to win this match to keep his Olympic hopes alive. This could potentially be Crosby’s third and last Olympiad.
“We have 48 hours to make that decision,” Cooper mentioned, adding, “He’s got a better chance of playing in the gold medal game.”
