Sidney Crosby's status for the 4 Nations tournament is still up in the air as he deals with an injury, and Elliotte Friedman now shed some light on it all.
On 'Saturday Headlines', Friedman said that it is totally Crosby's call, and he would be supported either way by the Penguins.
"Is Sidney Crosby going to play? He didn't play tonight against Philadelphia, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have said that this is his call, like obviously, Sidney Crosby being who he is and what he's done for this franchise," Friedman said. "They have said, if you want to play in this, it's your decision, and we will support it."
Friedman followed that by saying Crosby wants to know he can go at a high level before he commits. And while he's still better than most players even at 50%, the standards are very high.
"Now, under the impression that what Crosby is deciding, and I think he wants to play, is, can he be himself or close enough to himself that he will play," Friedman said.
"He does have a certain expectation of himself, and I think he wants to believe that he can be at or near that level before he commits."
Crosby could skip the opening game and return afterwards
One thing Friedman speculated on was Crosby skipping the opening game of the tournament against Sweden. For now, there is no certainty about his availability for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"Their second game isn't for a week," Friedman said. "So with seven days, Could he play games two and three for Canada? I think for him, that potential situation has been discussed."
Crosby, with 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists) in 55 games, currently leads the Penguins. He had appeared in 229 consecutive regular-season games before suffering the injury.