Sidney Crosby is back with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The captain won’t be on the ice in game action for a while, though, after his return from his time at the Winter Olympics with Team Canada.
The Penguins announced Wednesday that Crosby has been placed on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury.
Then came the worst news: A follow-up post from the Penguins indicated that Crosby will miss at least four weeks.
Crosby is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks. https://t.co/K3WB2aQa9y
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) February 25, 2026
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Crosby was injured early in the second period of the Olympic quarterfinal as Canada took on Czechia. Crosby was hit three times on one shift and left the ice slowly before heading to the locker room a few minutes later. Replays appeared to show a right knee issue, but that hasn’t been officially specified.
As Canada won the Olympic semifinal and lost in the gold medal game, Crosby sat out. In two games he clearly would’ve wanted to play, he couldn’t, and that was already a bad sign for the Penguins.
Crosby has been a big part of the Penguins outperforming expectations this season despite having an aging roster.
Now, without Crosby, the Penguins will have to figure things out.
They called up Avery Hayes from the AHL, and he actually skated on the first line in practice earlier this week with Crosby not there.
The Penguins’ first game after the Olympic break is Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils.
If the four-week timeline turns out to be exact, Pittsburgh plays 15 games in that span. That’s a lot of missing Crosby.
