Sidney Crosby – Who are you calling kid?

At the beginning of the 2008 season, there weren’t many who would have thought that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be the team to beat in the NHL. Sure, they had a great crop of players and the heroic property represented by Mario Lemieux, but this was a team that still found its wings. Budding superstars abound, but making the playoffs and acting respectable was a huge goal.

But that was not enough for these pens. They made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final, tantalizingly close to putting the finishing touches on the Cinderella story.

The penguins had a great unit of players. Sure, everyone had heard of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who were fighting for the NHL scoring race. But players like Marc Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal were the key to their success in that first test of play-off success. How quickly the Penguins had emerged from the dark days of 60 losing seasons, to the post-lockout spending spree gone wrong, to the best team in the league.

We have seen Cinderella approach and never return to the ball. There was Anaheim in 2004 when they lost to New Jersey in 7 games. That was the closest they got, before lifting the cup with a different cast in 2007. The Buffalo Sabers lost to the Dallas Stars in 1999, and they never competed again, their team dismantled in the process. Would the same thing happen to Pittsburgh after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in 2008?

Not even close. While every great team that reaches the brink of a championship must be led by tremendous performances of skill and will, Sidney Crosby has an otherworldly glow associated with him. After all, he’s “Next”, and he’s been breaking records since before he was in the NHL, or even declared for the draft. Winning a Hart Trophy at age 20, leading a great history of turning the Penguins organization, were already great feats.

But superstars are ultimately measured by team hardware, and that means championships. The Stanley Cup.

After surprising many observers by reaching the Cup final so early, the Penguins were quite disappointing early in the 2008-09 season. Inconsistent play, poor special teams and injuries staggered the Pens, in danger of missing the play-offs let alone being a contender. A midseason trade behind the bench to bring in Dan Bylsma was an arm shake they needed.

Sidney Crosby may have finished behind Evgeni Malkin in league scoring, but there was no question where his approach was heading toward “second” season.

The first were the Philadelphia Flyers, and they proved not a formidable challenge, especially compared to their much louder series in 2008. The Penguins easily dumped the Flyers and moved on to Round 2.

That contest turned out to be much more challenging. The Washington Capitals and Alexander Ovechkin awaited them. This was what NHL and hockey fans were only dreaming of when Ovechkin and Crosby first entered the league in 2005. How spoiled the hockey gods had made us serve up an epic showdown in 2009.

The series went the distance in 7 games, featured heroic and entertaining performances from both sides, but in the end, the penguins’ courage and determination prevailed. Crosby showed that he is, above all else, committed to victory and that he is not worried about comparing himself to Ovechkin. While Ovechkin is the flash of Crosby’s robot demeanor, in such a close series it came down to heart and determination, not just talent.

The Carolina Hurricanes were the semi-final match and they were also eliminated without as much stress or fanfare as the Capitals series. Frankly, Canes seemed happy to get this far. But that meant the Pens would face the Red Wings for the second year in a row for the Stanley Cup. Talk about overcoming your demons.

The Red Wings have won more than any other organization in the past two decades, and if it weren’t for some upsets in the play-offs, they would have had a number of mini-dynasties to talk about. Still, Red Wings’ depth and youth were noted by observers who felt this was setting up like a replay.

This time, the Finals were 7. A moral victory to be proud of?

How about making history? Captain Sidney Crosby was seriously injured during most of the second and third periods. This must have been devastating for him and the team, but they didn’t let it show. Crosby sat and watched from the bench as Maxime Talbot scored two goals and Fleury jumped in the last second to win his first Cup.

Sidney Crosby likely has a long way to go in collecting hardware in the NHL. But it’s not just his talent that will take him far. It is your absolute refusal to accept failure at any cost.