Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon remains in awe of Penguins forward Sidney Crosby
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The comparisons between Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon are always going to be present.
After all, there are only so many dynamic All-Star franchise centers who can label the small Canadian maritime town of Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia, as their home.
And on the scant occasions their respective teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, meet during the regular season, the queries for each superstar to measure one another never go away.
But there really isn’t much of a comparison to their bodies of work. Crosby has clearly been the better player.
Just ask MacKinnon.
“He’s as good a leader as ever,” MacKinnon said after his team’s practice at PPG Paints Arena Wednesday. “Obviously, I don’t play with him, but just being around him, I can feel it and tell. He’s accomplished everything there is to accomplish, but he’s still hungry for more, which is pretty cool.
“Always wanting more. He’s the epitome of that.”
MacKinnon is a pretty fair representation of that type of drive, as well. Especially considering his team has roared out of the gates this season at 6-0-0 going into Thursday’s road contest against the Penguins.
“We are playing well,” MacKinnon said. “We’re not just getting wins by chance. We’re earning them. We’re really deep. When everyone is going, we’re a tough team to beat.
“It’s only six games. We have 76 more.”
The Avalanche are led by MacKinnon, forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar. All are All-Stars, and Makar has won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.
That trio was a major reason the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and remain a favorite to do it again.
Are they in any way comparable to the Penguins’ iconic trio of Crosby, forward Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang?
“Not really,” MacKinnon said. “I don’t think so. I don’t think we’ve accomplished enough. Cale is, obviously, the best, but I don’t think me and Mikko are as good as Sid and (Malkin), especially in their prime. Not really.”
MacKinnon’s reverence for Crosby and company are easy to understand. Before he was Crosby’s peer, he was Crosby’s fan.
“Obviously, it’s no secret that I was a huge Sid fan,” MacKinnon said. “Therefore, I was a Penguins fan growing up. When they were winning and going to the (Stanley Cup) Finals (in 2008 and 2009), I was 9, 10 years old. A huge fan of the (Penguins).”
“The perfect ambassador for hockey, on and off the ice. He’s a true pro and obviously one of the best ever.”
Crosby and MacKinnon, as well as several other NHLers from Nova Scotia, routinely train together in the offseason back home. Beyond that, MacKinnon’s only other time on the ice with Crosby in a cooperative fashion came in 2015 during the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Championship tournament. The duo helped Canada win gold.
MacKinnon is hopeful another opportunity to do that will arise during the 2026 Winter Olympics, which are scheduled to take place in Italy. There is no guarantee the NHL will allow players to participate in any upcoming Olympics. But MacKinnon clearly would like a repeat of his prior experience of Crosby’s teammate.
“That was awesome,” MacKinnon said of their success in 2015. “Played on each other’s line a little bit which was really cool. I was 19. So that was awesome. In (2026), we go to Italy and if we play together, that would be awesome.”
Who would be the center on that line?
“Not me,” MacKinnon said without hesitation. “No, not me. I’ll be on the wing.”