Sidney Crosby will not suit up for Team Canada for the gold-medal game in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to multiple reports from Italy on Feb. 22. Elliotte Freidman of SportsNet reported the news on Twitter/X on Sunday.
The captain suffered a lower body injury that knocked him out of Canada’s semifinal win over Team Finland, and left his status in doubt ahead for the championship game against the United States.
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Jon Cooper, the head coach of Team Canada in the Olympics, previously told reporters in Milan that Crosby skated on Feb. 21. At the time, Cooper put Crosby’s chances of playing in the gold medal game as “stronger than they were two days ago.”
Crosby helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Games in Sochi. In Vancouver, Crosby scored against the United States in overtime to capture the gold and end the tournament.
Crosby, 38, has seven goals and nine assists in 17 career Winter Olympics contests. His teammates won without him Friday, beating Finland 3-2 thanks to a late goal from Nathan MacKinnon with 35.2 seconds remaining in the third period.
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“Still contributing even though he didn’t play last game,” Connor McDavid said of Crosby, according to NHL.com. “Still being the leader he is.”
Team USA advanced to the gold medal game with a convincing 6-2 win over Team Slovakia in its semifinal.
The gold medal game begins at 8:10 a.m. ET in Milan’s Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Canada is looking for its first gold medal in men’s hockey since 2014. Team USA is looking for its first gold since 1980.
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