Sidney Crosby's Most Surprising Moments Revealed for the First Time

Reporting on Sidney Crosby's career has been among the great pleasures of NHL insider Josh Yohe's working life.

With three Stanley Cups, 16 consecutive playoff appearances, 625 goals, and almost 1,700 points, he's provided writers with more than plenty to talk about. Yet Sidney Crosby's humility and graciousness have made it an even better experience.

Josh Yohe is always being asked for his favorite Crosby moments. He's had a lot of stories to tell over the years, and he does his best not to be a repeater, but there are some things that remain with him, particularly those that occur when the cameras are not around.

That is when you truly see a person. With Crosby, what you see is what you get.

One such moment arrived in the last season at Mellon Arena in 2009-10. On a chilly, rainy November afternoon, a group of high school students waited outside after practice in hopes of an autograph.

Most players drove by. But Crosby, in his Range Rover, pulled over and signed for all of them, drenched but grinning.

Another instance occurred when Ryan Reaves scored an uncommon goal in February 2018. The following day, he jokingly said he must have scored because he had inadvertently left his garage door open.

Crosby, having quietly overheard and being as superstitious as he is, yelled out as Reaves was leaving: "You're going to leave the garage door open before every game now, right?"

Blasting back in time to March 3, 2012, Crosby was still in the process of recovering from a severe concussion and testing his limits during a solo skate in Denver. He dropped to his knees on the ice after a grueling session.

He didn't move for a few minutes. Yohe thinks that was the day he realized he was ready to return.

And finally, Yohe will never forget the image of Crosby sitting in the darkened Mellon Arena with his father after a playoff defeat on the final night at the arena before the team would move to their new home, just the two of them, silently.

That expression on his face? You just knew he wasn't finished winning, and boy, did he ever win more Stanley Cups after that.