Some concussion symptoms persist for Crosby
He might be at the core of a swirl of anxiety and curiosity, but Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has gone about his summer in a calm, routine manner, operating out of his lakeside house in Nova Scotia.
“He’s got to be himself,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said Monday. “He’s got his home. He’s back in Halifax. He’s on the water. He does a lot of fishing. He hangs out with his friends. He just turned 24. He wants to be a kid and enjoy himself.
“He’ll be back here soon enough, and we’ll be happy when he gets back.”
Shero spoke with Crosby over the weekend to get an update on his offseason workouts as he recovers from a concussion that wiped out the second half of his 2010-11 season. Shero figured he could pass along the information when he visits the NHL research, development and orientation camp later this week, but he instead felt compelled to address it late Sunday night in response to an Internet firestorm based on a Twitter report that Crosby was having headaches and would not be ready to play in the season opener Oct. 6 at Vancouver.
Crosby, Shero reiterated, has had some concussion-related problems — “I don’t know the exact symptoms” — when he pushes himself hard, but there has been no determination about whether Crosby will be available for the start of the season, or when he will get clearance to resume contact drills.
Crosby’s “spirits were good,” Shero said, and he has had a fairly normal summer, which, for the high-caliber player, means long, intense workouts. It also has included usual activities such as reaching out to new teammates and conferring with staff on such things as the team’s travel itinerary for the upcoming season.
Coach Dan Bylsma said he has thought about contingencies for his lineup, only one of which includes playing without Crosby. Bylsma, the NHL’s coach of the year, got a lot of practice juggling personnel last season when the Penguins got hit hard with injuries, especially among forwards.
Shero said Crosby will be evaluated when he returns to Pittsburgh, likely around early September, a week or so before training camp. If he is symptom-free and gets clearance for full participation, it’s unlikely he would be held out of practices or preseason games as a precaution.
“When Sidney Crosby’s healthy and ready to go, he’s not going to shy away from contact, nor is he going to shy away from competition,” Bylsma said. “It would take quite a bit to keep him away from getting ready for the start of the regular season. There would be a discussion with what the process is and what we’re going to go through, but I don’t see anybody keeping him out of competition.”
Bylsma was making an appearance at the Penguins’ youth hockey school at the RMU Sports Center, and Shero joined him to speak to reporters.
Bylsma also said defenseman Brooks Orpik (sports hernia surgery) “is recovering fine;” forward Dustin Jeffrey (knee surgery) was hopeful of getting clearance to skate after seeing a doctor later Monday, and center Evgeni Malkin (knee surgery) is doing so well he has past the point of needing an injury update.
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