As most people expected, Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby has been named captain of Team Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympics team.
Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar will serve as the alternate captains. This is the same leadership trio the Canadians ran at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, where they won gold after defeating the USA in the finals.
Crosby finished that event with a goal and five points in four games, proving he still has what it takes to dominate a best-on-best tournament.
Crosby has worn the ‘C’ for Canada in every event he’s played in since the 2014 Olympics.
In that time frame, he’s led Canada to an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup of Hockey gold medal and a World Championship gold medal in addition to the 4 Nations Face-Off. In total, Crosby has won four gold medals in five events as captain of Canada.
His most recent time captaining Canada was at the 2025 World Championships, where Team Denmark shockingly defeated Canada in the quarter finals.
The 2026 Olympics will be Crosby’s third tournament, winning gold in his previous two attempts. In 2010, Crosby served as an alternate captain, scoring four goals and seven points in seven games, scoring the iconic golden goal against Team USA. In 2014, Crosby scored just one goal and three points in six games, but his lone goal came in the finals against Sweden.
Crosby is one of the most decorated hockey players at the NHL level and has become one of, if not Canada’s most decorated international players on the men’s side. His on-ice dominance and stout leadership have become a staple of Canada’s success ever since he first donned the Canadian jersey.
McDavid and Makar are partaking in their first Olympic Games. McDavid has captained Team Canada previously, leading the team at the 2018 World Championship, where he scored five goals and 17 points in 10 games.
Makar has never worn the ‘C’ for Canada, and it was his first time wearing a letter at the 4 Nations Face-Off. It was also Makar’s first bit of international experience at the senior level.
Canada begins its quest for a gold medal on Feb. 12, when they takes on Czechia.
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