Crosby’s Strange Home Gym Decor Proves Penguins Star Still Obsessed With Winning

One of the things that separates a lot of the best athletes from the rest of the pack is their drive to find success, even if they've already achieved pretty much everything there is to achieve in their sport.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has done it all in his career. Three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and more, but he still finds ways to motivate himself.

One of these was revealed in a teaser for the upcoming season of Amazon's NHL docuseries, Faceoff: Inside the NHL.

Now, Crosby is known for some interesting habits. He famously honed his shot by ripping puck after puck into his family's dryer; he warms up for every home game by toe-dragging around the McDonald's logo in the neutral zone, and has worn the same jock for decades.

It turns out that, as a way of motivating himself at home, Crosby has photos in his home gym of every Stanley Cup-winning captain hoisting the most famous trophy in sports to serve as motivation.

The 38-year-old revealed that this started back in 2008, when he and the Penguins lost the Stanley Cup to the Detroit Red Wings.

The very next season, the Pens came out victorious in a rematch with the Red Wings for the first Cup of Crosby's career, and the franchise's third. Since then, the Penguins have won two more Cups in 2016 and 2017.

So, it looks like this motivational factor worked, but will it be enough to help Crosby lead a somewhat rudderless Penguins team back to the postseason?

I'm inclined to say no, but as a Flyers fan who has had his heart stomped on by Sidney Crosby more times than I care to count, I know better than to doubt what he's capable of.

In fact, a turnaround on a dime wouldn't be unprecedented. Look at what happened last season with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. They went from being one of the worst teams to ever eke their way into the postseason in 2024, to nearly clinching a Presidents' Trophy the very next season.

It's not out of the question, but the team may need to make some tough decisions as its long-time core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Chris Letang isn't getting any younger.