Mark Recchi makes a lofty comparison involving Sidney Crosby

There's no doubting Sidney Crosby's hockey ability. He is arguably the best player to lace them up since Jaromir Jagr in his prime. As for just how good he actually is, Hall-of-Famer Mark Recchi is willing to make a comparison that's bound to be at least a bit controversial. Recchi believes the closest comparison to Crosby outside of the NHL is NBA legend Michael Jordan.

"Obviously, there's some great ones along the way, but in terms of the work ethic, I heard somebody say Sidney, and Sidney's probably about as close as you're gonna get, except he's not as confrontational as Michael Jordan was, it seems like," Recchi sais while appearing on Sportsnet's "Hockey Central." "Sid's work ethic is the hardest, the teammates have no choice but to follow."

Recchi added that in terms of still trying to be better, even though he's 32 and considered one of the best, if not the best, in the game right now, Crosby has few equals in the league.

"Our practices are unbelievably fast. When we get new guys in, they're not used to practicing at that pace and it takes them about three weeks to a month to catch up to that pace, and Sid leads the way every day," Recchi said. "After practice, he tries to get better at something every day. It's almost, like, lead by example: 'Guys you gotta stick with me and follow along and do the things I'm doing and we're gonna get there.'"

Recchi obviously has some bias. He is currently the assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, not to mention the fact that he was Crosby's teammate from 2005 until 2007. Still, according to QuantHockey.com, Crosby is second in the league in scoring since 2010 with 757 points. That's 35 points behind Patrick Kane, who leads the pack in this category. Crosby, though has played 184 fewer games than Kane.

Source: Sportsnet

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