The best NHL players from four countries entered the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best international hockey tournament, for the right to become world champions. In the end, it should come as no surprise that Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby stands on the winning side.
Crosby was selected as the captain for Team Canada, and justifiably so. The 37-year-old has provided some of his most spectacular performances while wearing the Canadian Maple Leaf, and he has continued to play a significant role in Canada’s best-on-best victories.
Crosby is the all-time greatest hockey player to represent Canada at the international stage, notching 29 goals and 38 assists in 52 games. Crosby scored the iconic “golden goal” in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, scored a goal in Canada’s gold-medal victory against Sweden in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and captained Canada to another gold in the 2015 IIHF World Championship. In the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, he was named the most valuable player after scoring 10 points during Canada’s championship run.
Sidney Crosby’s future on Team Canada remains uncertain
Crosby leads all active skaters in points (1,502) and assists (952), but it’s no secret that his career is inching closer to an end. The 4 Nations tournament could have been one of his last times donning the red and white uniform, but it's not necessarily over just yet. Crosby signed a two-year, $17.4 million contract with the Penguins last September, via Spotrac. That deal will last through the 2026-27 season, when he will be 39 years old.
Many of hockey’s all-time greats stepped away from the game in their late 30s, and Canada’s rising stars appear ready for the torch to be passed. Nathan MacKinnon was named the 4 Nations MVP, and Connor McDavid scored the winning goal in overtime. Crosby has transitioned into a leadership role and guided the rising stars in Canada’s locker room, and that’s a role he can likely excel in during the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
Seventeen members of Canada's 25-man team from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi have already retired, and a few more will likely do so before Italy. While Crosby’s role won’t be nearly what it has been, those winter games could be the captain’s last dance with the Canadian team. It’s unlikely that the star center continues his career beyond 2026, but it’s hard to rule anything out.
"You don't really know the trajectory of everything and how you're going to feel mentally, physically,” Crosby said in 2024, via ESPN. “I think that when you get to this point, you understand that's more of a reality with every year you play. But I think you just kind of check in with that through the year, every year, and evaluate it.”
Despite his age, the three-time Stanley Cup winner has proven he can still be a reliable player. He has 58 points through 55 games in the 2024-25 season. He was also productive on the tournament. Crosby had three assists in Canada's 4-3 overtime win against Sweden. He scored a goal and an assist in the team’s 5-3 win against Finland.