For Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, ‘There’s something to prove’

Bill Radocaj has been a season ticket holder of the Penguins for a long time.

Like, Rick-Kehoe-is-the-team’s-top-scorer for a long time.

Having had tickets in some capacity going back to the 1979-80 season, he has seen much of the good and bad of this franchise from his days in the E balcony of the Civic Arena to his current spot in section 228 of PPG Paints Arena.

“I’m in the cheap seats,” Radocaj, a Coraopolis native quipped.

His loyalty was well rewarded on Monday when captain Sidney Crosby arrived outside Radocaj’s house as part of the Penguins’ traditional “season ticket” delivery event before the season begins.

(With nearly all tickets now digital, Crosby actually delivered a gift basket of team gear, posed for photos, signed a few autographs and chatted with Radocaj’s family in a warm, humid day in the western suburbs overlooking the Ohio River.)

“I never expected it to be this big here,” Radocaj said. “I don’t know who it was. I’m worried if it’s someone I don’t know, a new player or something. We couldn’t have asked for anything better than Sidney. That’s what everyone is hoping for.”

Another thing everyone with an interest in the franchise is hoping for?

Back to the playoffs.

Especially the captain.

It’s been roughly five months since the Penguins were formally eliminated from playoff contention late in the 2022-23 regular season, snapping a streak of 16 consecutive appearances in postseason.

“It’s been a long, long time,” Crosby said of his longer-than-usual offseason. “Even in the years where we lost in the first round, everything seems to be repeated (the pandemic). … It’s been a long time. There’s been a lot of change, a lot of turnover. We’re all just waiting in anticipation just to walk. It’s nice to be close here and finally be at that point.”

The Penguins officially reported to training camp on Wednesday and will take to the ice on Thursday at their facility in Cranberry. And there are many new faces. Kyle Dubas was hired as president of hockey operations (then took the title of general manager), replacing Brian Burke and Ron Hextall, respectively.

And many changes have been made to the roster. The likes of Jason Zucker, Brian Dumoulin and Jeff Petry left and were replaced by Reilly Smith, Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson.

That turnover was necessary because of their failure to qualify for the postseason this past spring.

This also invigorated the incumbents.

“With all the new faces, everybody’s excited,” Crosby said. “Everyone can relate to that when you come to a new situation, a new opportunity. There’s something to prove, I think, for everyone. Whatever the situation, like that’s the movement. We all felt that right off the bat here. As far as energy, there was a lot there and everyone was excited.

Crosby proved that he is still a dominant force last season. After all, he is the team’s leading scorer with 93 points (33 goals, 60 assists) in 82 games.

Regardless, he wants to prove that his team can still compete at the NHL’s highest level.

“You want to come back,” said Crosby, now 37. “If it doesn’t go your way, you want to respond the right way and use it as a learning experience. Hopefully, this is what everyone thinks. With so many new faces, I think everyone is excited, there is a lot of energy.

“For the guys that were there last year, they want to come back. For the new guys coming in, they want to prove themselves. That’s a good mentality to have.”