Roenick: Crosby 'is the Obama of hockey'

NBC hockey analyst Jeremy Roenick, never shy to speak his mind, was on Sportsnet 590 with Tim and Sid Friday afternoon.

Roenick had high praise for fired Penguins GM Ray Shero and then was asked what Sidney Crosby must be thinking right now.

"He's thinking that he probably let down his city," Roenick began. "How can he not? You score one goal in 13, 14 games in the playoffs and one in 18 going back to last year.

"If that were me, you know, I would have apologized to everyone in the paper. 'I'm sorry I let you guys down.' That's what I would have done. I can't imagine that he can't feel a sense of disappointment that he did not do better for his city.

"You're always looked at as captain and the best player in the world to lead you and when that doesn't happen, the weight's going to fall on that best player. Just like when you win. The accolades are going to fall on that best player. You have to take the good with the bad.

"I didn't see any of Crosby's interviews, I didn't see what he said afterwards. I don't know what kind of heat he put on himself or... but he's got to be thinking at least that he let his city down."

Is Crosby getting a pass?

"Yeah, he's the Obama of hockey. Of course he is. He's getting a pass on everything."

Is he getting a pass because of the idea he's the best player in hockey?

"Well, he is the best player in hockey. I think there are players that are starting to catch him right now. You have a lot of people who are on the Jonathan Toews boat right now. There's some people that are jumping on the Steven Stamkos boat. There are players that are catching him. But Sidney Crosby is the best player in the world. And I think that, but you can't have the best player in the world be intimidated and be taken out of games because he's going to be targeted physically and that's what happened the last little while.

"Listen. Is he getting a pass? Yeah, he's getting a pass. But he's already won a Cup. He's won a couple gold medals. Does he deserve a pass once in awhile? Yeah, maybe because he's the best player in the world. You can't take that away from him, but, you know, he's the one that has to live with it for the summer. He's the one that has to train and think about how he's going to come back and - not try to redeem himself, but how he can try to make things different for the city of Pittsburgh.

"So, for me, I like watching Sidney Crosby play. I think he's so dominant. I love his dedication to the game and yes he's getting a pass. Maybe he deserves a pass. Maybe he doesn't. That's up to every individual, but he's still the best player in the world. Now people are starting to catch him and I don't think Sidney likes that too much."

Source: Sportsnet 590