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Penguins HC Mike Sullivan makes his feelings known on Sidney Crosby being voted best in one particular NHL player poll category

Modified Apr 16, 2025 03:02 GMT

Sidney Crosby was heavily featured in the 2024-25 NHLPA player poll that came out on Tuesday morning.

Even at 37 years old, the Penguins superstar remains one of the best players in the world, and his peers have tremendous respect for him. That was on full display in the results of the poll for the most complete player in the NHL.

Crosby earned the honor with 33.81% of the vote, narrowly beating out Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, who came in at 30.95%. Nathan MacKinnon (7.14%), Connor McDavid (6.98%), Auston Matthews (3.17%) and Anze Kopitar (3.17%) rounded out the top five.

It's notable that Crosby is still viewed in the same class as the league's biggest superstars in his 20th NHL season. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was asked about his captain once again being voted the most complete player in the league by his peers. 93.7 The Fan shared his response on X (formerly Twitter).

"He controls everything within his power to set himself up for success — that's a lot easier said than done," Sullivan said."

"There aren't a lot of guys that are willing to go to that level of detail and that commitment to do that. And that's one of the things that separates him from any other athlete that I've ever been around."

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Crosby and Sullivan are wrapping up their 10th season together, and they hope that next season will bring playoff hockey back to Pittsburgh.

Sidney Crosby was also voted the NHL's smartest player

Most complete player wasn’t the only category Crosby topped.

He was also voted the smartest overall player in the NHL by his peers. Crosby edged out Lightning star Nikita Kucherov (24.71%), while Connor McDavid (11.53%), Aleksander Barkov (6.43%) and Adam Fox (3.62%) followed.

Although it's been a disappointing season in Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby has done all he possibly can to salvage it. He's closing in on another 90-point season, sitting with 89 points (32 goals, 57 assists) through 79 games on the campaign.

Crosby and the Penguins have one game left in the regular season — Thursday night against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EDT at PPG Paints Arena.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

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