Based on the Penguins’ history when it comes to their players’ health, I’m sure we all had the same thought when the team returned to practice during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sid is going to get it. Mumps. Concussions. A broken jaw from a teammate’s slapshot. He’s gonna get the virus.”
So when Sidney Crosby left a team scrimmage Saturday and didn’t practice Sunday, I can’t blame anyone who thought that the star center tested positive.
You also can’t blame that fear for having legs because the NHL isn’t letting team personnel comment on player health at all during the reboot because of privacy reasons during the pandemic.
But Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive is trying to quell concerns about Crosby’s status.
“I’ve been told by a source within the team, and a pretty reliable source (from) out, that this is no big deal,” Madden said during our Madden Monday podcast. “It’s something very minor. The only worry I think we can have is that we’ve got to hope it’s something that isn’t nagging even if it is minor. Because the last thing you want is something that never goes away and could get worse.”
In our podcast, Mark says his information comes from someone who talked to a player, and someone else who talked to an agent.
As Mark and I pontificated, the Penguins don’t seem to be all that concerned about Crosby’s long-term status as they merely dropped Evan Rodrigues in as a placeholder for the first-line center position.
Today’s Sidney Crosby-free lines and pairs: pic.twitter.com/KdB8SoUd30
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) July 19, 2020
If the thinking was that Crosby was going to be out for a longer stretch of time, they may have actually tinkered with the lines more significantly.
As Mark and I point out, though, this guessing game is the residue of the NHL’s decision to be hyper-protective of any covid-19 diagnosis.
Now, not only are fans free to speculate, the media has little choice but to do so as well since the teams are loath to give any sort of corroboration or denial to stories. In the end, in an attempt to protect the privacy of the players, false narratives about their health may be created instead.
But if Crosby’s health isn’t a major concern for the Penguins, what is? Madden and I try to find some. We look at goaltending and third-line chemistry as potential hiccups.
On the Steelers front, we talk about why the NFL’s return to play may be flawed. And we get into Bud Dupree’s franchise tag with the Steelers, too.
And from baseball, we try to determine why some folks may be too optimistic about the Pirates.
