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2024:

“look at geno… everything’s right with the world” after the matching sidgeno goals

It was February 2012. The Penguins were mired in a six-game losing streak and Crosby had played in only eight games in 14 months because of a concussion. Some Penguins believed it was worth discussing if a new, temporary captain should be selected given Crosby’s absence.

As the story goes, in all, eight players took part in a meeting… The meeting abruptly ended when Malkin stood up and said, “This is fucking stupid. Sid captain.”

Case closed, Malkin’s legendary loyalty to Crosby having never been on greater display.

Malkin possesses his own quirks, sure, but he plays a primary role in making said personalities click. I’m fairly certain he’s often the one who brings everyone in that locker room together.

There once was a time when he wore the ‘A’ on his sweater because of his Hall of Fame talent. Nowadays, there is far more substance to that letter.

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It was 2011. Crosby was still out with the concussion and had been out for the better part of a year. There was a now infamous meeting in the Penguins’ locker room. On one side stood Brooks Orpik, Jordan Staal, Craig Adams and Matt Cooke. Those four were exploring the possibility of naming someone else team captain until Crosby came back. On the other side of the debate were Marc-Andre Fleury, Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Arron Asham. A rather heated discussion broke out. At the end, Malkin made his point clear: “Guys. Sid is the f captain.” Then he left the room. And the conversation was over.

Geno famously got into fisticuffs with Craig Adams during a Pens practice session; he bloodied Adam’s mouth.

what if we were teammates of 19 years who said things like "i remember watching you play in latvia, thinking how lucky i was that i was going to be your teammate" and "sid saved me" and "only for pittsburgh, always with sid" and "i just always liked him from the start. always have. always will"... and we were both boys

Y'all! Check out this adorable Hollanov piece I commissioned from the incredible Dom! 💖💖