Sidney Crosby is showing no signs of slowing down at 38 years old, but even he admits there’s a realistic chance the 2026 Olympics will be his last.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star appears to be in peak form this season with 12 goals and 21 points in 19 games, but Father Time comes for us all.

“I mean, it’s definitely a possibility. I’m trying not to think about it too much,” Crosby told TSN after being made available with the announcement he has joined Lululemon’s roster of Team Canada Ambassadors for Milano Cortina 2026. “Having missed a couple [Olympics with NHL players not attending], I think I’m just really grateful that I have the opportunity to compete again after not knowing if it was going to happen.”

The future Hockey Hall of Famer is already a member of illustrious triple-gold club having won Olympic gold twice, a World Hockey Championship and three Stanley Cups, and he also won gold at the World Juniors in 2005.

The remaining opportunities for Crosby to win as part of Team Canada are clearly limited. Among the first six players named to Team Canada, Crosby is the only holdover from the team that won gold at Sochi 2014.

Only seven players remain active in the NHL from that gold-medal squad, while Ryan Getzlaf, who is two years older than Crosby, is three years retired will be part of Canada’s management for these Olympics.

“Yeah, that seems to be happening a lot,” Crosby said of seeing former teammates trading skates for dress shoes. “Even just playing here in Pittsburgh, whether it’s management, with our team coaches, guys you’re playing against, now I’m playing against sons of guys that I played against. So, yeah, I’ve gotten to see that that pattern a little bit, and it’s something that’s it’s fun in a way, but it’s also something that reminds you of your age pretty quickly.”

It’s possible that Crosby will be the only player from Sochi 2014 to play for Team Canada in 2026. Drew Doughty and John Tavares headline the list of veterans pushing for spots, but a generation of hockey players have potentially missed their chance to compete on the Olympic stage over the past 12 years.

For players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Mitch Marner, it will be the first chance to wear the Maple Leaf in an extended best-on-best tournament as pros.

“It means a lot I know for a lot of the guys that haven’t had the opportunity,” Crosby said of the return of NHL players. “This is something that they’ve been waiting for, for a while. They got a small sample size of it at the 4 Nations, and then just with the Olympics, it’s more than just playing for Team Canada, the hockey team.

“You’re playing for Team Canada, the entire team, and all the other sports and everyone that’s pulling for you in Canada. That’s pretty special to be a part of. The experience at the Olympics competing with the best athletes in the world, that’s pretty unique, and that’s something that everybody wants to be a part of.”

Crosby rooting for Marchand’s Olympic debut

While Crosby is not ready to focus on whether these Olympics will be his last, they could be the first for his fellow Nova Scotia native and long-time friend Brad Marchand.

Marchand, 37, is in fine form to start the season with the Florida Panthers, posting 13 goals and 23 points in 18 games. That comes after he posted 10 goals and 20 points in 23 games this past spring to win his second career Stanley Cup.

“I think seeing how much effort and work that he puts in and knowing how much playing on Team Canada means to him, especially, the Olympics, he hasn’t had that opportunity and I know what it would mean a lot,” Crosby said. “I know in those times that it almost happened, how much he wanted to be a part of it, and, you know, there’s probably a good chance those years [2018, 2022] that he would have been [named to the team].

“He’s got off to a great start to the season, and you can tell he’s as motivated as ever, coming off of last year with the win with Florida and then carrying that play over to this season. I think it’s something he wants to be a part of. And it’s not easy.

“There’s so many great players that are vying for spots, but he’s had a great start.”

Marchand, a two-time champion at the World Juniors, remains an Olympic gold away from the triple-gold club. He and Crosby won titles together at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 4 Nations Face-Off.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported earlier this month that Hockey Canada values the vocal leadership Marchand brought to the 4 Nations and that could serve as tiebreaker when selecting the roster.

“The energy that he brings every single day, especially in a short-term event like that, where a lot of us hadn’t played together, Marchy was right in the middle of everything,” Crosby said. “He’s vocal, he’s a guy that has fun when it’s time to have fun, but when it’s time to get ready and go out there and play, he’s got that switch.

“I think that was something that was clear and I think everyone who was part of that could feel that. I think that’s something that just adds to what he brings not just on the ice, but off the ice as well. We all felt that and that’s just one of his strengths.”


The success of Canada at the 4 Nations is expected to lead general manager Doug Armstrong to field a similar roster when he submits it on Jan. 1. That prospect is exciting to Crosby, who could become the just the seventh – and first-ever non-Russian – to win three Olympic golds in men’s hockey.

“It’s a great group,” Crosby said. “I’m not sure what our team’s necessarily going to be but coming off the 4 Nations and that experience and getting to know a lot of you the guys on that team, I’m sure it’ll be fairly similar. I think you to see the hockey and the product that was on the ice and that should get everyone excited for the Olympics.”

The Olympic countdown is onSidney Crosby

With 80 days remaining until the Winter Olympics, Lululemon unveiled its Athlete Kit Tuesday in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Crosby joins Cynthia Appiah (Bobsleigh), William Dandjinou (Short Track Speed Skating), Piper Gilles (Figure Skating), Emma Maltais (Ice Hockey), Paul Poirier (Figure Skating), Cassie Sharpe (Freestyle Skiing), Tyler Turner (Para Snowboard), and Natalie Wilkie (Para Nordic Skiing) on the roster of ambassadors.

“It’s pretty cool,” Crosby said of being a part of the star-studded ambassador group. “I think that’s part of it when you get to be part of things like this, getting to meet other athletes and the other people involved. That’s something I’ve probably learned to appreciate over the years.”