Sidney Crosby reflects on possible retirement of Alexander Ovechkin

For two decades, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and fellow superstar Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals have been part of arguably the greatest on-ice rivalry in NHL history. 

Crosby is expected to continue playing for at least one more campaign, but Ovechkin hinted earlier this week that he could retire during the upcoming offseason. During a recent chat with Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Crosby spoke openly about Ovechkin's uncertain future.

Sidney Crosby is thinking about no longer having Alexander Ovechkin as a rival

"It’s been on my mind quite a bit," Crosby admitted. "I’ve been thinking about him a lot, because I know it’s something that has got to be on his mind constantly right now. When you get to a certain age, it’s the way it is. Every player is going to have to deal with it at some point." 

While Crosby's Penguins will participate in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs after securing a second-place finish in the Metropolitan Division standings, the Capitals may need a hockey miracle to continue playing beyond the end of the regular season. The Penguins host the Capitals on Saturday, and the two clubs will then meet at Capital One Arena on Sunday. 

"If this is it for him, if that’s the way it works out, I think it’s pretty cool that the schedule worked out the way it did," Crosby said about the upcoming matchups between Pittsburgh and Washington. 

Alexander Ovechkin's retirement would be "weird" for Sidney Crosby

As noted by the NHL website, Crosby’s Penguins beat Ovechkin’s Capitals three times out of four in the playoffs en route to claiming the Stanley Cup in each of those years (2009, 2016, 2017). The Capitals defeated the Penguins in 2018 before Ovechkin earned the only Stanley Cup championship of his career. 

"It would be so weird if he’s not around anymore," Crosby added about Ovechkin possibly retiring. "It would be weird, especially because we’ve (almost) always been in the same division. We see each other so often. We came into the league together. So, really, it’s all we’ve ever known. There have been changes. You play with a lot of different guys over the course of 20 years. But for me, seeing him a few times a year, and seeing him in the playoffs, has always been a constant." 

If that constant no longer exists after next week, hockey fans everywhere will lose a once-in-a-generation pairing that may never again be duplicated in any league.