- Sidney Crosby will represent Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland
- The Penguins captain joins a roster that just lost Mathew Barzal to a minor injury
- Read below for details, what happens to the captaincy, and video of Crosby reflecting on the Olympic silver
Sidney Crosby is going back to Worlds.
The Penguins captain will represent Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday. Sidney Crosby slots into a forward group that just lost Mathew Barzal.
Here’s the news from Hockey Canada:
Barzal is sitting out as a precaution due to what Hockey Canada called a “minor, pre-existing injury.” New Jersey’s Dawson Mercer and Philadelphia prospect Porter Martone were also added to the roster Hockey Canada unveiled last week.
I love that Crosby keeps doing this. The guy is 38 with 21 NHL seasons behind him, and he’s still hopping on a plane to Switzerland to play more hockey in May. Captain Canada through and through.
This will be Crosby’s fourth time at Worlds, after stops in 2006, 2015 and 2025. It’s also his 11th appearance for Team Canada at the international level. He most recently captained Canada to silver at the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
Crosby is the only member of the Triple Gold Club to have captained all three of his title-winning teams. He’s won at every level: Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold, Worlds, World Cup, 4 Nations, and World Juniors. The Golden Goal in 2010 is still arguably the most famous moment in modern hockey.
Here’s Crosby on the silver and the OT loss to the U.S. in Milan:
Now the fun question: what happens with the captaincy?
Macklin Celebrini was named Canada’s captain two days ago. He’s 19. The C usually belongs to Sid when he’s in the lineup, so don’t be surprised if Celebrini hands it over before Friday’s opener against Sweden.
Although… I’d love to see Sid let the kid keep it. Imagine a 19-year-old Celebrini wearing the C with Sidney Crosby on his bench. That’d be a moment.
Crosby is also coming off another big regular season. He had 29 goals, 45 assists and 74 points in 68 games to lead Pittsburgh in scoring for the franchise-record 16th time of his career. His 21 point-per-game seasons are now the most in NHL history, and he sits seventh on the all-time scoring list at 1,761 points.
Canada opens against Sweden on Friday at 10:20 a.m. ET in Zurich. After Denmark stunned this same group in the quarterfinals last year, this roster is going for redemption. With Crosby in and Mercer and Martone adding depth, it might be the scariest team in the tournament.
