Sidney Crosby named Penguins MVP for 10th time

Forward Sidney Crosby was named the Pittsburgh Penguins MVP as voted on by his teammates Thursday.

It marks the 10th time in his career Crosby has garnered that recognition. Only franchise icon Mario Lemieux has claimed it more often (12).

Crosby also was selected for the Players’ Player Award, also voted on by teammates “for the player they feel exemplifies leadership for the team both on and off the ice, and who is dedicated to teamwork.”

In 68 games this season, Crosby has scored a team-best 84 points (31 goals, 53 assists) while averaging 20 minutes, 1 second of ice time.

“It means a lot,” Crosby said. “I love playing. I love going at it every day and being with the team. That hasn’t changed since day one. I’m honored to be named team MVP. I hope everyone just realizes how much I love it and how much I love being a part of the team.”

These honors come one day after Crosby was named in a poll conducted among members of the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) as the league’s most complete player.

According to the NHLPA, 29.5% of those polled suggested Crosby fits that description.

Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov was second at 20.5 %

That type of recognition from his peers resonated with the 34-year-old.

“It always means a lot when it’s coming from the guys that you play against every night,” Crosby said. “It’s a compliment. It’s something that as a player, you’re always working on things. You always want to make sure that you’re continuing to learn and get better. As far as being complete, that’s something that’s constantly a work in progress.

“It’s not like a milestone where you achieve 100 points. It’s constant work in trying to get your game better and making sure it’s where it needs to be. We all have that mindset as players in that room, and we all want to get better. For me personally, that’s something that I always take a lot of pride in. It means a lot coming from guys that you compete against.”

Zucker’s status remains uncertain

Penguins forward Jason Zucker was absent from Thursday’s practice in Cranberry. On Tuesday, he suffered an undisclosed injury during a 5-1 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Zucker left that contest late in the first period.

On Thursday, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not provide a substantive update on Zucker and indicated he still is being evaluated.

Sullivan also declined to specify the nature of Zucker’s current ailment when asked if it was related to the core muscle injury that sidelined Zucker for several months earlier this season.

This season, Zucker has been limited to 41 games and 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) while averaging 14:49 of ice time.

In his place, the Penguins deployed Danton Heinen on the left wing of the second line with Evgeni Malkin at center and Rickard Rakell on the right wing.