Talented forward group led by Crosby, McDavid should be Canada's Olympic superpower

It’s been nearly 12 years since an Olympic gold medal was placed around Sidney Crosby’s neck.

From scoring the Golden Goal in 2010 to captaining his country to the top again in 2014, it felt like only the beginning of what we’d see the star from Cole Harbour, N.S. do on an Olympic stage.

Just like that, those opportunities disappeared into thin air. NHL players didn’t play in the Olympics in 2018 due to a dispute between the league and the International Ice Hockey Federation, largely over who would foot the bill. Then, a global pandemic put the brakes on an NHL return to Beijing in 2022.

Now, at 38, Crosby is finally back on the grandest international stage, willing his way to another golden moment. That he’ll captain this team in Italy is a foregone conclusion.

“To miss them and to not know what was going to happen, and now to know that we're finally going back, that's motivation in itself,” Crosby said in an exclusive interview with CBC Olympics host Ariel Helwani earlier this year. “That's kind of on my mind the most. It's just making the most of this opportunity here.”

Exclusive: Sidney Crosby on chasing 3rd Olympic gold, Canadian pride and 2010 golden goal

The three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins will be joined by two stars who’ve dominated in the NHL for several years, but who’ve never gotten to experience the Olympics: Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid.

They form a forward group that should be Canada’s biggest strength when the team plays its first game on Feb. 12.

Like his Nova Scotia brethren, MacKinnon has lifted the Cup. McDavid has not. He’s come tantalizingly close over the past two seasons, but not close enough.

The overtime game winner at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year