McDavid eager to play with 'idol' Crosby at Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid is happy he won't have to compete against Sidney Crosby for the rest of the regular season.

Now, the Edmonton Oilers captain can instead envision the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, where he will have the opportunity to share the ice with the Pittsburgh Penguins captain for Team Canada.

“It’s nice to answer questions about playing together as opposed to always playing against him,” McDavid said prior to Pittsburgh’s 6-2 win against Edmonton at Rogers Place on Thursday. “With it being the Olympics, the biggest sporting event in the world, and to be able to represent our country and be on a bigger level than just our sport, and to be part of Team Canada as a whole, it’s special.

“[Crosby] was my idol growing up. So, to be able to play with him and represent our country together on the biggest stage, it’s exciting.”

After almost a decade in the NHL, McDavid got his first chance to be teammates with Crosby for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February.

In that tournament, McDavid scored the overtime goal in the championship game against the United States, mirroring the Golden Goal Crosby scored against the United States at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

“It’s going to be a lot better than playing against him,” Crosby said. “He’s so dangerous for so many different reasons, and I had a great time playing with him at 4 Nations. I think everyone is excited to finally be back at the Olympics, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

First, though, McDavid and Crosby played their 17th NHL game against each other on Thursday. Crosby scored and was plus-2 in the Penguins win, while McDavid was held without a point and was minus-2.

Crosby now has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) when going head-to-head with McDavid, who has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists).

It was just another indication that Crosby, at the age of 38, is still going strong. He leads the Penguins in goals (27), assists (30) and points (57) in 50 games this season, and in a 4-3 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 21, he surpassed Mario Lemieux (1,723) for the most points in Pittsburgh's history.

As a result, the pride of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, has helped the Penguins (25-14-11) jump up into second place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is trying to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2021-22.

“He just loves it. He loves playing, loves competing,” McDavid said. “It seems like he loves everything about it, and when you love it, it’s pretty easy to show up and work and continue to get better, even at his age. It’s amazing to see, and he’s doing it again this year. He’s amazing to watch.”

McDavid, 29, has been impressive this season as well. The Richmond Hill, Ontario, native has 85 points (30 goals, 55 assists) in 52 games, which is tied with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for the NHL lead. Edmonton (25-19-8), which has lost in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, is in second place in the Pacific Division.

But before the playoffs arrive, McDavid will look to accomplish something Crosby (2010, 2014) has done twice in his career: win an Olympic gold medal.

Both were named to Canada’s preliminary Olympic roster on June 16, along with MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar of the Avalanche, forward Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and forward Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers.

When the rest of Canada's roster was named on New Year’s Eve, it sparked debates across the country as to what the line combinations, defense pairs and goaltending order should be.

McDavid said he was thinking the same.

“Yeah probably. Probably on a more realistic level, not fantasy hockey,” he said. “We want to build a team that’s going to win, and there are so many great players on that team, no matter how you put the lineup together it’s going to be a good team. With that being said, it’s a quick tournament and you have to get up and running fast. You want to have a little bit of familiarity with your linemates, so I guess there is an advantage to playing that tournament last year.”

Regardless of the line combinations, expect McDavid and Crosby to lead the way for Canada, which will attempt to win its fourth gold medal in an Olympic tournament featuring NHL players.

Canada won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

“I’m very excited to see that,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “The Olympics with the best players is overdue, and when you think about McDavid, who is closing in on 30 and hasn’t had a chance to play in the Olympics yet, it’s not fair for all the hockey fans out there who should be able to watch that.

“Now, you’ll see two Hall of Fame players about a decade apart finally being able to play together. It’s very exciting for so many factors. Sidney has been the best player in the NHL for a long stretch of time, and now Connor’s been the best player in the NHL for a stretch, and now the fact they get to play together at the Olympics on the biggest stage, it’s exciting.”