Sidney Crosby Continues To Be A Nice Guy And It's Killing Me
Penguins legend is making it very tough to boo him
Alright, I'm getting sick of this. I've been dealing with the same issue for the better part of two decades, and it's not getting any better: can Sidney Crosby stop being such a nice guy that it makes it hard for me to root against him, please?
Seeing as I'm a die-hard Philadelphia Flyers fan who grew up in the aughts and early 2010s, the Penguins captain ruined a large portion of my childhood. Even more so than math homework and having to wear an eye patch to fix a lazy eye.
So, as an adult, I'd love to hate on the guy who scores on my Flyers like it's his job (which I guess it is), but he keeps dropping such good-guy moves, I can't hate on him or else I'm the bad guy?
Do you see the conundrum?!
The latest act of Sidney Crosby's good guy-ism came this week, and it has to do with newly-hired Columbus Blue Jackets head equipment manager Paul DeFazio.
According to TSN, before taking this job with Columbus, DeFazio had been with the Penguins organization for 25 years, including a stint as the head equipment manager with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and then as an assistant equipment manager in Pittsburgh from 2018 to 2025.
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby continued to make it hard to root against him by helping one of the team's equipment managers score a new job. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
So, when DeFazio was trying to get the job in Columbus, Crosby personally called up Blue Jackets great Rick Nash — who now serves as the club's director of hockey operations — to help DeFazio get the job.
"You’ve heard all of the talk through the years that (DeFazio) was Sid’s guy, that he did everything for Sid, and that he kind of took Sid under his wing when he got to Pittsburgh (in 2005)," Nash said in an interview with The Athletic. "So when Sid called, I said, ‘What are you gonna do now if we take him?’
"He said he’d figure things out, but he’d be more than happy for this guy to get his shot as the head guy. That’s a pretty good endorsement, I guess, right?"
Dammit, Sidney! Stop being the best guy! I feel guilty about booing a guy who does stuff like that.
To his credit, Pens president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas also phoned up Jackets GM Don Waddell to give his stamp of approval to DeFazio.
What a classy move from Crosby, Dubas, and the Penguins, and congratulations to DeFazio on getting the job.