The Pittsburgh Penguins will continue holding the fort down as they await the return of their captain.
Sidney Crosby is putting in "long hours" rehabbing his Olympic injury as he aims to get back on the ice for his NHL club, team president Kyle Dubas told Penguins reporter Josh Getzoff on Thursday.
"He's extraordinarily diligent, and is going to do everything he can. He always puts his team first. And his way of doing that is making decisions that are totally selfless over there in Milan, and then come back here and really doing everything he can to get back and help the Penguins," Dubas said.
Crosby was placed on injured reserve on Feb. 25 with a lower-body injury, with the Penguins estimating he would be out four weeks.
He was injured in the Olympic quarterfinals when his leg bent awkwardly on a hit from Czechia defenceman Radko Gudas and did not return for the remainder of the tournament.
"Hopefully we've kind of crossed the peak, and we're coming down the other side, where we'll start to see him get back on the ice and test it that way," Dubas said.
"Obviously, that will be the best trade-deadline addition that we could make."
The trade deadline is set for Friday at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT.
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Crosby has been his usual productive self this season. He leads the Penguins in goals (27), assists (32) and points (59), and is on pace to extend his NHL record of averaging at least a point a game to 21 years and counting.
The Penguins (31-16-13) sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 75 points. Without Crosby, they have earned points in three of four games since the Olympic break, winning two.
"We'll just continue to try to stack points in his absence and put the team in a good spot, as he has put the team in a great spot for over two decades now. So, it's the team's chance to give back," Dubas said.
--with files from The Canadian Press
