‘Incredible’: Sidney Crosby praises Connor McDavid’s Olympic performance for Canada

MILAN – Connor McDavid stood with hands on hips as American players celebrated.

The Canadian superstar had once again come up just short in a big moment — this time on the world stage.

McDavid and his teammates pushed and pushed in Sunday’s gold-medal game against the archrival United States at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

They simply couldn’t find the range when it mattered before Jack Hughes scored in 3-on-3 overtime to secure a 2-1 victory for the Americans’ first gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.

McDavid, however, had a record-breaking stretch and was named tournament MVP in northern Italy.

“Incredible,” said Canadian captain Sidney Crosby, who missed both the semifinal and title game with a lower-body injury. “He did everything. He did everything humanly possible to lead us. To come into a tournament like this, best players in the world, and to be able to elevate to the level that he was at is unheard of.”

McDavid finished with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in six games to set the record for a single NHL-featured Olympics.

The 29-year-old captain of the Edmonton Oilers, who didn’t speak with reporters post-game in the mixed zone after initially being scheduled to take Crosby’s place at the formal press conference, had nine points in the preliminary round before putting up two in each of Canada’s comebacks in the quarters and semifinals.

McDavid, whose NHL team lost to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final the last two seasons, was stopped by the unflappable Connor Hellebuyck on a second-period breakaway, and was part of a long 5-on-3 power play that failed to connect.

Crosby, however, said his international teammate deserves credit for his drive, commitment and leadership.

“It’s something that’s amazing, you see up close,” said the 38-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins captain. “You feel for him just because he did so much and led in every possible way. We all want to win for each other. Especially for him. 

“It’s tough that we weren’t able to get the result that we wanted.”

Crosby was also asked whether these Olympics represented a torch being pass in Canadian hockey.

“I don’t really think of it that way,” he said. “I was just so grateful to be part of this group. The way we played, the way we got better with every game … I thought that was so important. You can see it, you can feel it. I was thinking more about that and just being grateful, thankful to be apart of this group more than I was thinking about passing the torch. 

“(McDavid) was incredible and as his teammate, it was fun to watch.”

HONOURING JOHNNY

The U.S. made a point of keeping the memory of Johnny Gaudreau alive at the Olympics.

The skilled winger and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a suspected drunk driver in August 2024.

American forward Brady Tkachuk brought Graudeau’s No. 13 jersey on this ice after the victory. Gaudreau’s family was also in attendance for the final.

“It’s just what he means to our whole entire team, what he means to USA Hockey,” Tkachuk said. “He would have been on this team. He’s touched everybody on that ice … we just wanted to show the Gaudreau family our support. He was so near and dear to a lot of us.

“We miss him greatly. We did it for them.”

3-ON-3 ‘NOT HOCKEY’

Canadian head coach Jon Cooper was asked about the sequence that led to the OT winner that cost his team gold. 

“You take four players off the ice,” he said. “Now hockey is not hockey anymore. There’s a reason, overtime and shootouts are in play. It’s all TV driven to end games.

“It’s still a competitive nature out there. It’s different. It’s different hockey… But we didn’t score on our chances, and they scored in theirs.”

Cooper was also quizzed on if he would like to see the International Ice Hockey Federation go back to 5-on-5 for overtime in crucial contests, similar to the NHL playoffs.

“The game is 60 minutes long,” he said. “All the teams know the rules going into these beforehand. You can’t come up here and say, ‘Oh, we’re the losing team because we lost in a 3-on-3. That’s not fair.’ We knew the rules coming in.”

Cooper, whose Tampa Bay Lightning once played a five-overtime game in the post-season, pointed out Canada won its quarterfinal 4-3 over Czechia in 3-on-3 OT.

“(Do) the traditionalists want it a certain way?” he said. “I’m sure they do, but there’s a lot more that goes into this … I don’t think people want to watch hockey for 6 1/2 hours, but we all get it. We got the rules, and whether you like it or not, you have to abide by them. 

“We were on the short end of the stick.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2026.