Under strict mandates from the NHL and its players’ association, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not expound on any updates on the status of star player Sidney Crosby.
“No,” Sullivan said when asked about Crosby and assistant coach Todd Reirden, each of whom is on the NHL’s covid-19 list. “It’s in the league’s hands.”
A day after missing a win against the Philadelphia Flyers, Crosby was absent from Penguins practice Wednesday in Cranberry Township. Being on the covid list does not necessarily mean a player tested positive for coronavirus, and teams are prohibited from publicly revealing if a player has the virus or is merely on the list because of contact tracing.
Either way, the Penguins — for an unknown period of time — are without their captain and leading scorer. Tuesday was the first game Crosby has missed this season. He has 18 points in 20 games (Jake Guentzel tied him for the team lead with an assist Tuesday).
But Sullivan said he has spoken multiple times by phone with Crosby, and he suspects some of his teammates have as well.
“As far as (team meetings) are concerned, a lot of this stuff we’re doing on a virtual basis anyway, so he has the capacity to be plugged into all the video sessions we send to the players,” Sullivan said. “We are using all different types of technology to do that, and he has that technology at his disposal.”
