Sidney Crosby ruled out: sidney crosby out for Olympic gold-medal game in Milan
Sidney Crosby has been ruled out of Canada’s Olympic gold-medal game against the United States, the team announced about an hour before the start of the game. The 38-year-old captain’s status had been in doubt after a lower-body injury sustained in Canada’s quarterfinal win over Czechia.
Sidney Crosby injury and timeline
Crosby suffered the lower-body injury during Canada’s quarterfinal victory over Czechia. In that game he was hit along the boards in the second period by Czechia's Martin Nečas and Radko Gudas; those hits were described as the third major hit he’d taken that period. Crosby exited the ice soon afterward, limped toward the locker room, and was soon ruled out of that quarterfinal game. A photograph taken on Feb. 18, 2026 at the Milan Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena on day 12 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games shows Crosby being attended to after the injury; that image was credited to Hassan Ammar.
Practices and medical hope
Crosby skated in practice on both Friday and Saturday but made no public statements, as both practices were closed to media. Canada head coach Jon Cooper said on Friday he believed Crosby had a chance to play in the gold-medal game, and Cooper later said, "We'll see. I watched him skate today. I haven't spoken to him yet. We're going to meet tonight and have a determination of what's going to happen tomorrow. " Cooper also insisted that Crosby would not be played unless he could meaningfully impact the team, saying, "He won't put himself in harm's way. He's not going to put the team in harm's way, " and adding, "He wouldn't want to do that either. "
McDavid as playing captain
With Crosby unavailable earlier, Connor McDavid wore the captain's "C" in Crosby’s place when Canada beat Team Finland 3-2 in the semifinal on Friday. McDavid will again be the playing captain for Team Canada after Crosby’s injury. McDavid spoke about Crosby’s role and influence, saying, "He's Sidney Crosby. He's going to have a big influence no matter what. In the lineup, not in the lineup, he's going to have a big influence. That's what he does. " McDavid also said the team wanted to give Crosby an opportunity to play one more time and that Crosby has been "extremely positive" and continued contributing to the team despite not playing.
Career and Olympic record
Crosby, the oldest player on Canada’s roster at 38, has played in three Olympic Games for Canada and has won two gold medals, in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. He scored Canada’s golden overtime goal in 2010 that sent Canada past the United States. While in Milan, Crosby scored two goals and four assists, and he holds the Canadian NHL-era Olympic record with 16 total points.
Team USA updates and other players
On the opposing side, Team USA’s Tage Thompson was on the ice for the team's skate on Saturday after leaving the Americans' 6-2 win over Team Slovakia in the third period on Friday. Thompson had been held out of the third period of that game for precautionary reasons.
Decision and timing
The official announcement that Crosby would not play in the gold-medal game came roughly an hour before puck drop. Jon Cooper had indicated he would convene with staff and make a determination leading into the game; ultimately Crosby did not recover in time to be in Canada’s active lineup.
Photographs from the tournament capture moments tied to Crosby’s injury and its aftermath: a Feb. 18, 2026 image taken at the Milan Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena by Stefano Guidi shows on-ice action from the quarterfinal, and a Feb. 20, 2026 image by Carolyn Kaster shows Connor McDavid wearing the captain's letter during the semifinal.
Canada will proceed into the gold-medal game without Sidney Crosby in the lineup, with Connor McDavid serving as playing captain and the team adjusting to the loss of their veteran leader.
