Button: ‘There is no other choice but to have Crosby as Canada's captain’

Craig Button joins SC with Jay Onrait to discuss his projected Team Canada roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Button breaks down each position, and touches on who could wear the 'C' for the red and white.

[@ripapa6355]

No other player would accept the 'C' if Crosby was on the team.

[@FirstLast-sw1gx]

McDavid would for sure. You can tell he has a huge ego and cares deeply about personal accolades.

[@TheLivewire18]

Sidney Crosby on a third line… that’s just INSANE

[@rolieg81]

That 3rd line, omg just savage.

[@Childofbhaal]

He is 36 years old though lol take a prime Crosby and that would never happen

[@tristandeschamps8582]

Dude look at the rosters for the other olympics. Officially, Crosby has been on the third Line a ton with Marchand and Bergeron for Canada in the past.

[@forgive9220]

Weak on the left side throughout the lineup. Center will be our best postition

[@thebigpicture2032]

I’d have him on the 4th line in two years

[@nonamenas]

The answer to the question of biggest omission is Steven Stamkos. The guy hasn't been to an Olympics in his career and he is still a point per game player. Plus Brayden Point is already on the team so there's team chemistry there. Move Point to be with Stamkos and Crosby to be on a line with Mackinnon and Marchand.

[@gl2663]

Must be a fellow Nova Scotian like me lol

[@Gmaneeeee]

2 yrs he’ll suck he alrdy slowed down hella

[@ngarcia103]

The captaincy is Crosby's until 1. He doesn't want it anymore, or 2. He retires, or 3. He does something unrelated to hockey that warrants stripping him of the "C". (Which doesn't seem like the kind of person Crosby is)

[@justinbutera8945]

He lost it to Toews 1 year did he not?

[@ngarcia103]

@@justinbutera8945 I don't think so. The only times they've been on the same Canadian national team together for an IIHF tournament were the 2010 and 2014 Olympics. They've never been teammates on any World Championship team.

[@justinbutera8945]

@@ngarcia103 Youre right. I remember there being something with Toews and Crosby about the captain, maybe Sid reached out.

[@rolieg81]

Hell, Sid for PM if you ask me.

[@mattrix4200]

Always love & respect your thoughts, but how in the world is your first line NOT Hyman - McDavid - Marner?!! Given their familiarity with each other and complimenting skills - it's a dream lineup even amongst all-star calibre players!

[@Skynexstar]

I would argue that one of marner of mcdavid should line up with bedard and just feed his crazy shot. Could even slot in Huberdeau as he looks to be back in form though that may change in 2 years

[@mattrix4200]

@@Skynexstar have to admit that's a pretty good line also...but it's Hyman's familiarity and knowing instantly how to play with BOTH McDavid & Marner that would make this a dream lineup. As an aside, I also can't understand how it's a necessity to put McKinnon & Syd together (this is their last chance to play together in international play - you can't deny them this).

[@gdriscoll4947]

Marchand Crosby Mackinnon first line easy

[@choms]

Too many young dudes. Where is Mark Stone at? Proven champion. Gritty and a beast.

[@DedaLGaming]

lets hope stone can even make it to 2026

[@paulthompson8793]

@@DedaLGamingFor real, dude is falling apart sadly.

[@user-cx7rv7tg2q]

No Mark Stone? Are you kidding me? I thought, Craig knows something about hockey... And Bedard as fourth line defensive center?

[@prairieboypools]

Why would Mark Stone be on the team?

[@jarikuusila6336]

One who hass More Balls

[@FirstLast-sw1gx]

Guy is a bandaid already. Imagine how much more dilapidated he will be in two years.

[@SMONclips]

Not even a discussion. Crosby is an og now man is literally captain until he retires

[@pascalplenge1882]

The greatest captain of all time.

[@Rick-zp5sr]

2 years away.. a little early, don’t you say? 🤦‍♂️

[@CanadiansEH]

real

[@TheLivewire18]

No?… you clicked on the video and commented didn’t you? Mission accomplished.

[@SuperAndrew64]

​@@TheLivewire18 found the bell employee

[@steverobinson1353]

All my years listen to Craig I finally agree with the clown lol

[@PP-nw4ti]

We're just 2 winters away from the Olympics lol That's quite far from today. Canadians love hockey

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

We love hockey more! Finland versus Final under 20 years old wi

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

Finland versus Russia final under 20 years old worlds in 2016! 2,4 million tv watchers in Finland that game! Finland only 5,5 million people so half of population watched that game! Canada only 5-7 million out of 40 million tv watchers these under 20 years old finals!

[@PP-nw4ti]

@@RaineriHakkarainen I studied in Finland in exchange 20 years ago. All I remember is buying liquor at Alko, Wappu parade in May and Viking line to Stockholm.

[@Haboobz66]

3:07 heh Nagano still stings for Canada 😁😁

[@TheLivewire18]

Did this man just say Aiden Hill and Jordan Binnington aren’t weak points??? Come on now. I was with him the whole segment until that take. (There’s still 2 years for someone to arise. But you tell me are starting tendy or Jordan dealing Binnington? I’m putting money on the Americans…)

[@filipberes319]

Bedard 4th liner what is Button cooking

[@letigidou8660]

Well right he shouldn't even be on the team. He is an average NHL player at best and a liability at worst. He should be much better in two years but we don't know for sure.

[@hanetmohamed6182]

Put him on the wing

[@charleshart4985]

as long as crosby is actively playing hockey, he is the captain of team canada. plain and simple.

[@TheLivewire18]

Idk if I’m crazy. But I just feel like the talent level across the board for all the teams seems higher. Maybe it’s just recency bias. But man, I’m looking at this team USA for example. WTF is this defense?? Quinn Hughes AND Adam Fox?? Oh come on..

[@jarikuusila6336]

Susuki, ford line captain

[@TheLivewire18]

Sidney Crosby is such the obvious choice. He might get named captain of the American team as well

[@d0hzer453]

I do not like the lines at all. MacKinnon up a line. Crosby up a line. Bedard up a line.

[@biggest451fan3]

Canada could put a b,c,d team and it’s still an easy gold medal

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

Come on bad Loser! Canada lost badly in 1998 and 2006! Sweden won the olympic gold in 2006! Sweden little country only 65000 hockey players! Bad losers Canada have 650000 hockey players! Canada ten times more players than Sweden and Canada lost badly! Auston Matthews scored 52 goals in 57 games NHL this season! In 1980s Gretzky's time 8 goals per game! Todays NHL only 6 goals per game! Matthews had played in 1982 he would had scored over 100 goals beating Gretzky's record 92 easily! Ovechkin would score in high scoring 1980s over 1000 goals! No talent Canada should have 6-7 Ovechkin today because Russia under 100000 players! But Canada no hockey culture and good coaching! Canada do not play in The olympics without NHL Refs! Canada Cup Russia beat Gretzky's Canada 8-1 because honest trustworthy SwedishRef! Canada today have no passion for hockey! Finland won in 2016 under 20 years old hockey world championships! Finland 2,4 million tv watchers in 2016 final game! Finland 5,50 million people so half of the Finland population watched that Game! Never gonna happen in bad hockey market Canada only 5-7 million will watch juniors worlds in Canada! Finland much more fanitical and more passion for hockey than Canada!

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

Come on bad Loser! Canada lost badly in 1998 and 2006! Sweden won in 2006 olympic gold! Sweden little country only 65000 hockey players! Bad losers Canada have 650000 hockey players! Canada ten times more players than Sweden and Canada lost! CzechRepulic won in 1998! CzechRep only under 100000 players! Auston Matthews scored 52 goals in 57 games this NHL season! In 1980s Gretzky's time NHL 8 goals per game! Today NHL only 6 goals per game! If Matthews had played in 1982 he would had scored over 100 goals beating Gretzky's record 92 goals easily! Ovechkin would had scored over 1000 goals in high scoring 1980s! Canada 6-7 times more players than Russia! Canada should have 7 guys who have scored over 800 goals! Canada do not have 7 guys over 800 goals because no good coaching and no hockey culture! Finland won juniors under 20 years old World championships in 2016! Finland 2,4 million tv watchers final game! Finland 5,5 million people so half watched that final! Never gonna happen in Canada! Canada only 5-7 million tv watchers out of 40 million! Finland have more passion and hockey culture than Canada! Canada have never won without help from NHL Refs! Canada do not play in the olympics without Refs from Canada! Russia beat Gretzky's Canada 8-1 in Canada Cup because Ref was honest trustworthy Swedish! Gretzky and Lemieux would lose against Matthews USA if Gretzky and Lemieux playing today!

[@keeganreinhart2135]

I mean just be honest, Adin Hill has been relevant for under one nhl season, Binnington has had one real relevant season and Skinner has played well for 3/4 of a season…Button acts like they are the best group of goalies lol

[@thebigpicture2032]

Sadly it is Canada’s biggest weakness with no consistent proven goalie.

[@jarikuusila6336]

Team rainbow

[@jimokie1396]

Marchand Crosby Mackinnon

[@carparthero]

crosby by 2026 would be a 3rd line center at best, for the 2026 canadian team. that said, he absolutely should still be the captain over mack and mcdavid. sidney crosby is a proven winner in international play, and has the respect of the players, and management, to be the leader of the team.

[@MrFreeth26]

Not liking the size up front on that line up USA is bringing bodies.

[@peterlue9274]

Captain McDavid for sure

[@johnjohnston3879]

Give it to mcdavid lol, like wtf

[@the6ig6adwolf]

Strength at centre and zero goaltending.

[@Tlilancalqui]

If Crosby has an attribute in which he could lead the team in other than age, then I could agree, but he doesn't have charisma, so he's not leading by what he says, or by his presence. He doesn't fight or hit, so he's not leading by physicality, he's not your best play maker, he's not your best scorer, he's not your best penalty killer, he's not your fastest skater, he doesn't have the best moves. So yeah, it's nice that he's the oldest guy but the guy actually leading the team would be McDavid. (Unless McDavid is currently playing in a more important tourney, because a team with Crosby Captain is a B squad)

[@sj4iy]

Way to admit you’ve never watched a hockey game. Crosby has 9 fights, including one this season ; McDavid has 0 Crosby has 0.86 hits per game; Mcdavid has 0.76 hits per game Crosby has won 52.6% of faceoffs in his career. Mcdavid has won 47.8% of career faceoffs. In fact, Crosby won 58.2% of faceoffs this year compared to Mcdavid’s 51.1%. Crosby was voted Most Outstanding 200 foot player for the 5th consecutive time by his peers. Crosby finished 4th in Selke voting in 2018-2019, after Bergeron and Stone. Crosby is the youngest captain to ever win a Stanley cup. He’s also the second longest tenured Captain (17 seasons) after Yzerman (19 seasons) and may pass him. Also, Crosby won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2010. McDavid has never won it. Crosby had 2 Rocket Richards… Connor Mcdavid has 1. Crosby had 2 Conn Smythes…Connor Mcdavid has none. Oh…and Crosby had 3 cups to McDavid’ 0 cups. Btw…none of this is to say that McDavid is bad…he’s a great player and will probably win a cup. I certainly hope so, because it would be an utter waste of his talent to not win in Edmonton. He has more regular season individual awards than Crosby has…mostly because Crosby was injured when he was on a 130 point pace (which, era adjusted, was a 160 point pace) 3 years in a row during the second dead puck era (10-17), when they changed the rules to open up scoring. He also played during the time when he was headhunted by every goon in the league and before concussion protocols were even talked about and cheap hits were almost never penalized. However, I made this to prove how stupid you are because almost nothing you said was correct. Crosby is in the Mount Rushmore of Hockey. He broke Gretzky’s record of 19 consecutive seasons with over 1ppg. He’s in the top ten of all time points with over 1000 assists. If, in 2 years, he’s on the olympic team, he’s the captain.

[@georgejohnson3654]

Ridiculous. There's probably 10 guys who could be captain at least😂

[@xidis8022]

Crosby c McDavid a MacKinnon a Makar a. We all know it's McDavids team but Crosby deserves the captaincy one last time.

[@kwaty]

Yup. That’s how I see it.

[@kwaty]

Can imagine McDavid would say the same!

[@ripapa6355]

It's absolutely NOT McDavid's team. I'm an Oilers fan, but McD needs to win something before it's his team.

[@paulthompson8793]

McD is a great player, but that doesn't make him a good leader.

[@codyhertzler2387]

McKinnon please lets move on

[@afzalhakeen4941]

i don't want crosby on the team ,i want new nhl players who hasnt won olympic gold

[@redman958]

Having Crosby, McDavid and Bedard all on the same team is pretty rad though.

[@pascalplenge1882]

Without Crosby, you won't get the gold.

[@afzalhakeen4941]

@@pascalplenge1882 u changed my mind. i wanna see mackinnon-mcdavid-bedard-hyman play with crosby

[@chadwickbarry8371]

Sidney Crosby may not make this team. If the Pens miss the playoffs this year and possibly even next. With the depth of Canada up front Crosby could be 4th line at best. He is no Rob Zaumner but Anthony Cirelli is a two-time champion. Mario had great success in Salt Lake City at that age but the game is different today than in 2002. Crosby might not be there Canada has to obtain gold for the team at all costs. 🏴‍☠️

[@goose5462]

Pens playoff days are over for a while.

[@ryanprosper88]

Bonkers

[@fistmcstrongpunch2776]

Gotta throw the out to lunch people alert up here. Crosby is a lock for this team. Still one of the best and currently carrying an underperforming team to the brink of a playoff berth in a tough metropolitan division. Also, Dude, did u say Crosby is no Rob Zamuner? I hope I misread that because that is absolute garbage 😂😂

[@paulthompson8793]

Have you seen the guy play? he's still amazing out there, despite being on a mid team.

[@redman958]

Even at his age now he's having one of his best goal scoring seasons.

[@YZER19]

Larkin, Mc David or Marchand. Crosby never was or will be a good Captain

[@MyStuffReview]

He is the best leader in the leauge, im sure every player would say the same lol

[@Childofbhaal]

It’s funny because Crosby has captained more cup winning teams than all of them combined

[@MyStuffReview]

@@Childofbhaal and hes still giving all these guys a run for their money on the ice at 36 lol