Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Nathan MacKinnon Backs Crosby’s Choice to Sit Out Gold Medal Game

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Jackson Weber | Last updated Feb 22, 2026 12:58 PM ET

When the hockey world learned how close Sidney Crosby came to suiting up in Team Canada’s semifinal game against Finland on Friday, everyone assumed Captain Canada would find a way to gut through his injury and play in the gold medal game against the Americans on Sunday.

Even if it was just as the extra forward playing sparingly and serving as a leader on the bench, Crosby coming out of the tunnel to torment Team USA once again on the international stage felt inevitable. Instead, Canadian fans woke up to the news that their captain was out, and reality set in that they would have to get the job done without their heart and soul.

Some may have wondered: how bad could the injury have been to not at least give it a go in such an important game? Crosby, being the leader he is, didn’t want to negatively impact his team, knowing he wasn’t capable of providing anything close to his usual level of play. In turn, he gave his healthy teammates the chance to make the difference.

It wasn’t an easy decision for anyone involved — especially Crosby — but Nathan MacKinnon’s words postgame made it clear they had his back and believed the right call was made.

MacKinnon said:

“He did it for us and the country to not play,”

In the grand scheme of things, it played out about as well as Canada could have hoped with Crosby on the sidelines. They outshot the Americans 42–28 — and it felt even more lopsided than that — dominating play throughout regulation.

However, numerous missed opportunities — breakaways, wide-open nets, a minute and a half of 5-on-3, and over a minute of power-play time late in the third period — came back to bite them. Team USA held on for dear life, and when you get to 3-on-3 overtime, anything can happen, and it was a shot off the stick of Jack Hughes that delivered the latest golden goal.

Was This Sidney Crosby’s Last Olympics?

Heartbreaking is the only way to describe it.

For the likes of MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, it was their first crack at winning Olympic gold. For Crosby, now 38 years old, it meant painfully watching the semifinals and finals of what could be his final Olympic Games.

For an all-time great who has won just about everything at every level — as Matthew Tkachuk said before the game — it’s hard to complain. Still, Crosby’s Olympic career potentially ending this way just doesn’t feel right, and all of Canada has to be hoping he can maintain his level of excellence and desire to keep playing with eyes set on 2030.

There would be no better story than seeing a 42-year-old Crosby still at the top of his game and playing an impactful role for Team Canada in Paris 2030. The sting of how Milan 2026 ended will last forever, but perhaps it will only further motivate a player who is already as dedicated and driven as they come to ensure this wasn’t the last time he wears the red and white on the world’s biggest stage.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: