Watching the game from the stands, unable to help his team, must have been gut-wrenching for Sidney Crosby. Team Canada’s captain missed the 2026 Winter Olympics final against Team USA and could only look on as the Americans walked away with the gold medal. After the game, Nathan MacKinnon made a powerful admission about Crosby’s decision to stay out of the lineup.
“He did it for us and the country to not play,” MacKinnon said about Crosby’s absence after the loss to Team USA, via The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. MacKinnon’s comment highlights Crosby’s selfless play, recognizing that his team had a better chance without him than if he had played injured.
Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong confirmed during the game that Crosby made the decision himself. The Canadian captain did everything he could to return to the ice, but in the end he accepted it was best for him—his career—and the team to step aside. That is just another way in which Crosby proves he is a leader on and off the ice.
Heartbreak for Canada
Every time the Olympics come around, a dilemma resurfaces. Some believe winning the silver medal is worse than winning bronze, because it means you lost the gold-medal game. In certain sports, that idea carries more weight than in others.
Nathan MacKinnon of Team Canada
In a sport of inches like ice hockey, that is certainly the case. Canada could have easily won the game had the puck bounced its way. Still, that’s all counterfactual. In reality, Crosby, McDavid, and Team Canada have settled for silver in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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The gold now belongs to Team USA, who re-claimed it for the first time since 1980. The Americans wasted no time rubbing salt in the wounds, as Jack Hughes sent Canada a bold message after his golden goal. To the victor go the spoils, though Canada had its fun after last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, but bragging rights now belong to the Stars and Stripes.
Crosby has won gold before
It goes without saying, losing is never a pleasant feeling. For Crosby, it’s even worse, as he couldn’t do anything to change the outcome of the game or the course of history.
If there’s a silver lining for him, it’s the fact that Crosby has won a gold medal before—he even scored the game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime to secure the triumph, much like Jack Hughes did in 2026. However, this loss still stings. For MacKinnon and company, it hurts even more, as they missed out on their chance to strike gold at the Winter Olympics.
Now, they will have to wait four more years just to get another opportunity. Many members of the current roster won’t be on the team—some may not even be in the NHL by then. No pun intended, the game against Team USA in Milan was a golden opportunity for Canada, which will now chew on remorse and regret for a very long time.
