Crosby remains cautiously optimistic

Canadian Press

10/1/2007 4:05:12 PM

Sidney Crosby expresses cautious optimism as he approaches the new NHL season.

His personal karma is all positive and he's wise enough to refrain from promoting his Pittsburgh Penguins as Stanley Cup contenders.

''It's easy to say, yes, we are ready, but a lot of good teams don't make the playoffs,'' he says.

Pittsburgh amassed 105 points last season, up from 58 the year before, in earning its first playoff birth since 2001. The vast improvement led many to predict that this was an NHL champion in the making.

Crosby, as level-headed a 20-year-old as there is, hopes so, but also realizes the hockey gods can be fickle.

''We've just got to make sure we have a strong start,'' he says. ''Maybe it's not going to be 105 points this year.

''We'll see.''

Crosby answered a wide range of questions during a conference call Monday. The Penguins open their season Friday at Carolina, and it will be Crosby's first regular-season game as team captain.

''I don't think my focus or mindset changes any different from last year or the year before,'' he said. ''I've always tried to lead by example and I've always played with emotion, and I need to keep playing like that.''

He won the scoring title and the MVP award last season but all the individual honours won't mean added pressure to produce, he said.

''I don't really think about that, to be honest with you,'' said the native of Cole Harbour, N.S. ''I'm always looking to improve, looking ahead and trying to be better.''

One of the ways he got better last winter that was mostly overlooked was by reducing his penalty minutes - from 110 as a rookie to 60 as a sophomore.

''I wanted to make sure I wasn't retaliating,'' he explained.

It's called playing smart, and he's smart enough to know it takes a team to win the championship and not a bunch of individuals.

''You need depth, obviously,'' he said. ''Any team that wins the Stanley Cup has great depth - four solid lines, good goaltending and defence.

''One or two star players on a team aren't going to win a Stanley Cup.''

So, do the Penguins have the required depth now?

Maybe, but talk is cheap.

''We have to prove that (depth),'' Crosby said.

Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, entering their second NHL campaigns, have to make continued progress to keep Pittsburgh near the top.

''They're definitely going to feel a lot more comfortable,'' Crosby said. ''The start of the season probably will be a little bit easier for them (than a year ago).

''They won't be going into new buildings and facing new opponents every night. They'll start off with a little more confidence . . . and that's important.''<

The league might start the season in Europe again a year from now, building on the Anaheim-Los Angeles openers in London last weekend, and Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay might be the teams getting the trip. Crosby is all for it. Prague is a possible site.   ''That's exciting,'' said Crosby, who has been to the Czech Republic capital. ''It's great for the fans and you get to see a different part of the world.''

It would be fun, he said, although he's unsure if he'd ever like the NHL to expand to overseas cities.

''Right now, 82 games is a grind,'' he said. ''It would have to be set up the right way.

''I'm happy with the way it is right now but we'll have to wait and see what happens. If they did come to that, I'm sure it'd be under the right circumstances.''

For now, he's only concerned about helping the Penguins be a winner in Pittsburgh, where franchise stability seems to have been finally achieved.

''It's great for us,'' he said. ''The last couple of years it's been talked about so much, so knowing we're here to stay, a lot of uncertainty is gone.

''We can just focus on playing hockey. It's nice to know moving forward we're going to be here, and it's good for the fans who have followed the team.''

The high-scoring Penguins will be among the most popular NHL clubs, but it was a physically imposing club, Anaheim, that won the Stanley Cup last spring.

''Teams are going to have success different ways and it's up to teams to build their own identities,'' Crosby replied when asked which style would eventually reign supreme.

Regardless, as long as obstruction fouls get called and hooking, holding and interference are constantly policed, ''there shouldn't be a problem.''

Fighting will continue to have a place in the sport, he said.

''You don't like to see guys get hurt but sometimes the game has to police itself,'' he said. ''I don't think there's a huge issue there as long as guys are smart about it.''

The 20-game suspension given Philadelphia farmhand Steve Downie for causing Ottawa's Dean McAmmond to suffer a concussion got the thumbs up from Crosby, who called it ''a deserving suspension'' in terms of the length of Downie's ban.

''I definitely think there's a message that has to be sent: we can't have those hits anymore,'' he said.

Between now and April, Crosby will complete his entry-level contract. With a base salary of US$850,000, his team will be getting the biggest bargain in the league. There are bonus clauses, of course, and every hockey fan has to be wishing he cashes in on all of them again.