Report: Sidney Crosby might not be ready for the start of the 2011-12 Season

[.infamous]

It’s going to be tough to forecast the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins because of the still-in-limbo status of their two superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin’s situation might actually be a little easier to gauge since he’s dealing with knee issues rather than ever-elusive concussion problems.

Now, it’s important to take any unconfirmed report with a grain of salt. With that disclaimer out of the way, Josh Rimer of NHL Home Ice reports that “three sources” told him that Crosby won’t be ready for the beginning of the 2011-12 season. Again, it’s impossible to tell how reliable those three sources are, but Rimer is a producer for a well-known hockey radio show so it probably wouldn’t behoove him to throw out a rumor without any basis.

That being said, the regular season is still just a shade under two months away, so there’s always the possibility that Crosby will make more progress than expected. The hope was that Crosby would be healthy enough for training camp so that he could get acquainted with new teammates such as James Neal and Steve Sullivan, but that might not happen now.

The Penguins could probably accept the possibility of Crosby missing a portion of this regular season if it means taking every precaution to make sure that they’re doing what is best for the still very young star’s future. We’ll keep an eye on any denials, confirmations or other comments or updates from the team itself. Again, it’s unclear if this rumor will come to fruition, but it would be a sad situation if Crosby really did miss even more games that “count.”

(H/T to Rotoworld.)

Update: While the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is looking into the rumors, Eye on Hockey points out that USA Today’s Kevin Allen provided more optimism in his Saturday report. That report indicates that Crosby is “training and planning as if he will be ready for the start of training camp.” Naturally, that doesn’t mean that he will be ready, but it underscores the idea that the situation is murky at the moment. We’ll keep an eye on the situation.

 

[playmaker7]

God dammit...let's hope so at least

 

[.infamous]

i hope this shit isnt long term cuz he is my favorite player...yes thats coming from a red wings fan lmao.

 

[Phil The Thrill]

I have kind of always had the thought that it might be career threatening. I doubt it, and I really hope it isn't