Sidney Crosby Sends Clear Message by Shattering NHLPA Poll Results

Pittsburgh Penguins captain and franchise icon Sidney Crosby continues to shatter expectations, even on the wrong side of 35 years of age.

Despite his club missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd straight year, which is now the longest drought of his career, Crosby has shown no signs of slowing down and has shown why he remains one of the top players in the League.

He finished this year with 91 points (33G, 58A), breaking Wayne Gretzky's record of most seasons of averaging at least a point per game with 20.

Adding to his accomplishments was coming in 1st place in a recent NHLPA poll which asked players who they believe is the smartest and most complete player in the League.

Crosby won 33.81% of the vote for Most Complete Player; finishing in 2nd place was Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov with 30.95%. Crosby's friend Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche came in 3rd place with 7.14% of the vote, followed by Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid at 6.98%.

For the NHL's smartest player, Crosby topped the list by winning 27.02% of the vote; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, who was just eliminated from the postseason, came in 2nd place at 24.71% of the vote; coming in 3rd place was McDavid at 11.53% of the vote.

Oh, and Crosby also topped the poll of who his peers would most like to take a crucial face-off for their team; he came in 1st place at 20.39% of the vote, followed by Nashville Predators forward Ryan O'Reilly with 9.95% of the vote.

Despite the lack of recent success by the Penguins, there's no denying that Crosby remains one of the best and most respected players in the NHL.