The term superstar is thrown around quite casually when talking about the game’s best. However, when it comes to Sidney Crosby there is no doubt that he is actually one of the superstars of hockey.
When we look back at his career they will be comparing him not only with the peers he played against, but the legends of the game.
However, every career started somewhere.
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In this post we are going to take a look at Sidney Crosby’s firsts. His first game, season, goal, cup and more. It is fun to go back and see how this amazing career started.
Sidney Crosby’s First Season
After being drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2005 NHL entry draft in June, Crosby immediately entered the league at the beginning of the season in 2005-2006.
At the time the Pittsburgh Penguins were a poor team with a bunch of young talent, including Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin.
Despite the poor team Crosby still managed to finish the season with 102 points. Although, that was still only good enough to finish second for the Calder Trophy for best rookie, losing the award to Alexander Ovechkin.
When was Sidney Crosby’s First Game?
Sidney Crosby made his NHL debut on Oct 5th, 2005 when the Pittsburgh Penguins played against the New Jersey Devils.
It was an away game for the Penguins, and things did not go well as they dropped the game 5-1.
It was not all bad for Crosby as he picked up an assist on the only Penguins goal. It was a power play goal scored by Mark Recchi and assisted by Crosby and John LeClair.
The final stat line for Crosby’s first game was:
| Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- | Shots | TOI |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 3 | 15:50 |
When was Sidney Crosby’s First Goal?
Crosby did not have to wait too long for his first NHL goal. On Oct. 8th, 2005 in Pittsburgh’s third game of the season and their first home game Sidney found the back of the net against the Boston Bruins.
Crosby’s goal came at the end of the second period on a power play and gave the Penguins a 6-4 lead. Mark Recchi and Ziggy Palffy would end up drawing the assists on Crosby’s goal. Sidney not only scored a goal but also added two assists to give him a three point night.
The one thing that spoiled the night is that the Penguins did not get the win as they ended up losing to the Bruins 6-7 in overtime.
His final stat line looked like this:
| Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- | Shots | TOI |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19:16 |
Here is a video of his first goal:
Sidney Crosby’s First Contract
Crosby signed his first contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins a few months after being drafted in 2005.
There was not much to negotiate with contracts for recently drafted players as the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the players has a maximum amount a new player can make. As the first overall pick Crosby would surely get the maximum allowed.
So Crosby signed his maximum rookie contract of $850,000 for three (3) years with a chance to double that with performance incentives.
Sidney Crosby’s First Fight
Crosby is not a delicate flower. He has been known to get penalties. If someone hits him, he will hit back. But he is definitely not to be confused as a fighter, but he has had a few of them.
His first ever fight took place against Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins on December 20, 2007. Watch the fight below. I say that he got the win. What do you think?
Sidney Crosby’s First Shootout Goal
Crosby’s first shootout goal came against the team that he grew up idolizing – the Montreal Canadiens.
In his first season in the NHL, and the first season that the NHL had implemented the new shootout rules, Crosby had a chance to win the game for the Penguins in the shootout.
He would come in on goalie Jose Theodore and after a forehand fake he pulled the puck to his backhand and tucked it into the top of the net. The goal gave the Penguins a 3-2 overtime win against Crosby’s boyhood team.
Crosby’s goal comes at the 2:34 mark.
Sidney Crosby’s First Playoffs
Crosby would not make the playoffs in his first NHL season, but he did make it in his second. Crosby would get his first taste of playoff action in the 2006-07 season.
The Penguins were markedly improved in their second season with Crosby and Malkin and skyrocketed to 105 points in the standings. They only finished two points behind the Atlantic Division champion Devils.
The playoffs were not kind to Crosby in his first try as the Penguins were defeated 4-1 by the Ottawa Senators, who went onto the Stanley Cup Finals.
Crosby had a decent series as he contributed 3 goals and 2 assists over the five games.
His second year in the playoffs would be much better as the Penguins made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, but ended up losing to Detroit.
Sidney Crosby’s First Cup
In NHL terms, Crosby did not have to wait long for his first Stanley Cup. In just his fourth season, and a year after losing in the Stanley cup finals, Crosby was able to lift the Stanley Cup above his head.
The Penguins would meet the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. This time Pittsburgh would be the victors winning in seven games and clinching the cup on the road in Detroit.
In the final game, Crosby got hurt during the second period and only played 32 seconds of the third period. Crosby didn’t win the Conn Smythe as Most Valuable Player (that went to Evegeni Malkin), but he would win the MVP award in 2016 and 2017 for his 2nd and 3rd Stanley Cups.
Crosby’s stat line for the 2009 playoffs was still pretty impressive:
| GP | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| 24 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 14 |
