Pens coach comments on report Crosby was cleared to play game 6 but team wouldn't let him
It was a bit of a head scratcher when the report was made public. After the Pittsburgh Penguins were knocked out of the playoffs in game seven by the New York Rangers, a report from The Athletic's Rob Rossi stated star player Sidney Crosby was medically cleared to play game 6, but the team - specifically GM Ron Hextall - wouldn't let him due to concerns over his concussion history. Rossi made the statement while doing an interview with a local radio station.
The Pens lost game six. Crosby came back for game seven, but it wasn't enough to get the win. Still, if this were true, that would have been a major step by the team and Hextall. One that likely wouldn't leave Crosby too happy, as Rossi stated he really wanted to play. According to Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan, it never happened.
"Per Mike Sullivan, Sidney Crosby was not medically cleared for Game 6 by team doctors," said Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports.
The team has stated that Crosby was never diagnosed with a concussion, but was held out because of some headaches after a big hit from Jacob Trouba.
Rossi has also reported recently that the Penguins had offered pending free agents Evgeni Malkin and Kris LeTang three year contracts at $5 million per season, something Crosby was apparently upset with. Rossi stated Crosby believed the offers were "low-ball" and insulting. I'd likely take that with a grain of salt as well.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||