Sidney Crosby: (at least) four weeks out

Big news in Pittsburgh.

Captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured in the Olympics by Radko Gudas, will not be able to play for the Penguins for the next few weeks.

The American club announced that the star player will miss at least four weeks of action. It is believed that the injury is a partial tear of the knee, rather than a complete tear.

Crosby is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks. https://t.co/K3WB2aQa9y

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) February 25, 2026

Even if Kristopher Letang returns to play in Pittsburgh, Crosby's injury changes everything. The club can't really aspire to make the playoffs without him.

Even with him, it was already a long shot… and now he's going to miss several weeks.

The risk of going to the Olympics has just hurt the Penguins, who made the decision yesterday to trade Brett Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche for the rest of the season.

Obviously, this confirms that the Penguins' #87 will not be traded before the deadline. We didn't believe it at this point, but still: it's worth noting.

The Penguins had a better start to the season than expected, but their season was hanging by a thread. And that thread snapped when Canada's captain was injured in Italy.

Let's not forget, though, that he came close to playing in Sunday's final.

Penguins announce Sidney Crosby out minimum of 4 weeks. Team Canada's captain tried all he could to play Sunday. Such an unselfish decision by 87 to know he couldn't put himself in that lineup. https://t.co/gF1txQK0Jc

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 25, 2026

Overtime

The player in question must be furious—and rightly so. But these are the risks of the job, and he knew what he was getting into when he went to the Olympics.

Kyle Dubas will now be able to do whatever he wants at the deadline, then.