Sidney Crosby – A Coach Killer?

VIDEO: Check Out Hilarious Video Below of Funny Moments of Sideny Crosby..

Crosby the Untouchable.

Well, enough.

He has been the constant, hovering presence in the ouster of four coaches who have stood behind the bench since the Penguins took Crosby with the No. 1 overall selection in 2005 draft. It’s gone from Eddie Olczyk to Michel Therrien to Dan Bylsma to Mike Johnston and, now, for some reason beyond logic, Mike Sullivan was hired to replace Johnston on Dec. 12. Sullivan, the former Rangers assistant under John Tortorella, is as out-of-touch a selection as could have been made. Just wait until Crosby gets to know him a little better.

Because what Crosby wants, Crosby gets. When Sullivan rubs him the wrong way — it’s not an “if,” it’s a “when” — the indelible No. 87 will start sulking, just like he did at the end of Therrien’s run and the end of Bylsma’s run and the end of Johnston’s run. Great players lead by example, and when Crosby wants change, it’s clear. There is a fine line there between being a demanding competitor and being a coach-killer.

During the off-season, Crosby received the Mark Messier Leadership Award. In 2010–11, Crosby sustained a concussion as a result of hits to the head in back-to-back games. The injury left him sidelined for ten and a half months. However, after playing eight games in the 2011–12 season, Crosby’s concussion-like symptoms returned in December 2011, and he did not return until mid-March 2012 after extended treatment by neurologists at UPMC and chiropractic neurologist Ted Carrick, whom Crosby credits with helping him return to hockey. In 2013–14, he again won the Hart Memorial Trophy as well as the Art Ross Trophy and his third Ted Lindsay Award.

Sid the Kid is now 28. He won his lone Stanley Cup as a 21-year-old with Bylsma in 2009. He has gone from the face of the franchise to the definition of the franchise. Evgeni Malkin is a special talent, but he is a hockey player, and that’s all. Crosby has become so much more.

Which is to say he holds more power than the coach and likely the general manager. The principal owner, Mario Lemieux, opened his house to Crosby when he was drafted. Their relationship is too close to allow for perspective. If there have been ownership “moles” within the organization for years — as has been implied — that means they are Crosby constituents, as well.

Is Crosby’s authority going right to the top? Think he got a little fed up with the lack of top-tier wingers to play with, and might have blamed previous GM Ray Shero? Lemieux fired Shero after they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Rangers in 2014, and hired Jim Rutherford, who built the Hurricanes so well they made the playoffs once in the past nine years.

Crosby finished the 2014–15 season with the highest point-per-game average and a total of 84 points, trailing only John Tavares (86 points) and Art Ross winner Jamie Benn (87 points), who moved to the top by tallying four points in the last day of the regular season. On November 26, 2014, Crosby notched his 800th career point, becoming the 6th-fastest player in NHL history to reach 800 points. On January 4, 2015, Crosby scored his 300th career goal against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Despite a strong start to the season, the injury-plagued Penguins entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s second wild card. Facing the New York Rangers, Crosby helped even the series with two goals in Game 2. However, the Penguins were defeated in five games and was eliminated in the first round for the first time since the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. Crosby finished fifth in the Hart Trophy voting.

“Am I disappointed? Yes. Makes me sick, actually,” Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sunday about the team’s start. “More sick than I’ve ever been in my career when I’ve managed a team. I feel for the fans. I feel for everybody.”

Well, I feel for Rutherford, being put in an unenviable situation of trying to turn around a salary-cap-strapped roster that includes a star with ownership-like power who didn’t like his coach.

I don’t agree with Tortorella often, but his take on the Penguins — as hot-headed and mostly unprofessional it is for him to say publicly — is pretty spot-on. Crosby is played harder by the opposition than anyone in the league, but he never deals with it quietly. Crosby complains a lot. And it trickles down. So this little outburst from Torts on Malkin selling what was a dangerous knee-to-knee hit, well, it’s boisterous Tortorella, but it’s not wrong.

Stamkos and ‘Like’-gate

There are still repercussions from Steven Stamkos “liking” a Twitter post on Dec. 10, in which TSN talking heads asked whether the Maple Leafs should pursue the Markham, Ont., native. Stamkos is in the final year of his contract and a pending unrestricted free agent, and we know Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman is no stranger to dealing some of his biggest players.

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Lightning trade candidate Steven StamkosPhoto: Getty Images
Stamkos admitted the like “didn’t look good,” but told the Tampa Bay Times he “envisions myself winning a championship here.” Yet there is still no deal done.

Doesn’t help that Stamkos and the Lightning have struggled with the Stanley Cup-final hangover, only showing the smallest signs of turning things around. They were 6-3-0 in their past nine, but then lost a bad 2-1 game to the visiting Canucks on Tuesday. With all that offensive talent — remember The Triplets, Rangers fans? — they’re 23rd in the league in goals per game (2.46). If Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock are serious about that rebuild in Toronto, maybe they ought to press Yzerman hard before this trade deadline.

One Hamonic hopeful gone

A dreamy-eyed section of the Islanders fanbase hoped the eventual Travis Hamonic trade might be to the Wild and bring back impending restricted free agent defenseman Jared Spurgeon. Well, Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher hardly let that idea gain ground, inking the 26-year-old to a four-year, $20.75 million deal ($5.1875 million per) on Monday.

If there was any need to see he’s worth it, just look at the game he played against the Rangers last Thursday in Minnesota. Out against Rick Nash all night, the undersized Spurgeon played a great game — hard on the body, quick moving the puck, excellent skating ability and terrific instincts at both ends of the ice. That was a pipe dream for the Isles, which is just about all they’ve got right now in trying to figure out whether they can get an equal return for Hamonic.

Stay tuned …

… to the World Juniors championship, to commence round-robin play on Boxing Day — Saturday, Dec. 26. The Canadian team kept two players in the Islanders organization, both first-round picks from this June’s draft: forwards Mathew Barzal (No. 16 overall) and Anthony Beauvillier (No. 28). The Devils have two prospects on Team Canada, as well: forward John Quenneville (No. 28, 2014) and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood (No. 42, 2015). The Rangers had Ameican goalie Brandon Halverson make it to be one of America’s two netminders.

There are other prospects from the local teams all over the tournament, and the hockey is terrific. Live broadcasts from Finland won’t be great for ratings on NHL Network, but the action normally starts around 7 a.m Eastern Time, and can start as late as 3:30 p.m., so check it out.

Parting shot

In shootouts, there should me more ridiculous attempts like the one Alexsander Barkov took Sunday night against the Canucks. These guys do this stuff all the time in practice. Enough with the quick wrist shots. Let the creativity fly.

December 23, 2015 | 12:11pm

http://nypost.com/2015/12/23/sidney-crosby-is-a-coach-killer-there-we-said-it/