Fans on social media were stunned after learning Sidney Crosby’s role with Team Canada for the 2026 Men’s World Championship in Switzerland.
Macklin Celebrini remains Team Canada’s captain, while Crosby was named an alternate captain. Celebrini, the youngest-ever senior men’s captain for Canada, had already been named captain before Crosby’s addition.
This marks Sidney Crosby’s fourth appearance at the tournament. He was a late addition to the roster. After a player-led meeting that included input from Crosby and other veterans, the team decided to keep the “C” on Celebrini.
Many fans on X (formerly called Twitter) expressed disappointment that Crosby did not receive the full captaincy. One tweeted:
“This is an absolute disgrace” wrote @AnkleBully22
“This is so wrong. Should be Sidney Crosby as captain. What are we doing?”
Another chimed in:
“I bet Celebrini offered Crosby the C and Sid told him to keep it. He knows Celebrini is the future, very cool stuff if so.”
Here are some of the other top reactions on X:
“So you CAN have 3 alternates at worlds! All that discourse over who was gonna have to lose their A for nothing lmao,” a third fan wrote.
“Celebrini is a stud and has successful career ahead of him but Sidney Crosby is the captain of any hockey team he plays for,” one X user opined.
“I like Cellibrini a lot but man it doesn’t look right not seeing Sid with the C. I love that the vets want to elevate the youngster but man Sid is the heart of team Canada,” another chimed in.
“Last time Crosby was on a team without wearing the C, the captain was Mario Lemieux,” added another.
Sidney Crosby praises MacKlin Celebrini’s leadership for Team Canada
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby downplayed any concerns about MacKlin Celebrini’s leadership for Team Canada at the 2026 Men’s World Championship.
“Yeah, we’ll figure it out,” Crosby said via The Atletic. “That’s not something that we’ll need to spend much time on. I’m really happy to be here. (Celebrini has) had an unbelievable year. He looks amazing out here. I can see why he got selected. He’s got so many great leadership qualities.”
The 2026 Men’s World Championship takes place from May 15 to 31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
Edited by Abhishek Dilta