Rumors of My Demise have been Greatly Exaggerated

"Lovely to see you again, my friend,
Walk along with me to the next bend.
Dark cloud of fear is blowing away,
Now that you're hear, you're going to stay
Cause it's lovely to see you again"
-Lovely to See You- Moody Blues


After the initial erection from receiving that text from 32-623 that Crosby was back on the ice had subsided, and after hearing from Sid himself, it's important to put his return to the ice in context.


1. If we see him at all, it's still going to be a while.

Let's face it, if we were in Crosby's situation: concussed, out of work and bored, Tim Horton's donuts would look pretty good (they do anyways). He's nowhere close to being in game shape. This is just the first of many trial runs. But admittedly, it feels good just to finally see him make that first step.

That being said, we shouldn't just assume that we'll see Crosby for the end of the regular season/playoffs. Like he stated, he could feel fine right now, but wake up tomorrow morning and be back to square one. This is going to be a gradual and often frustrating process for Sid and for Pens fans, so it would behoove us to have a bit of patience.


2. aoimwefhiopahwfjkl

If you didn't do a Pensblog-worthy home key smash when you heard this news, you aren't a true fan.


3. There are more important things than a 2010-11 playoff run.

I have faith that Crosby and the Penguins are being careful with this issue. Nobody wants to sacrifice Crosby's long-term health just for a Cup run. He's 23, and has his best hockey ahead of him. There's simply no use in jeopardizing that.

And beyond even that, he's going to have a life after hockey. He shouldn't have to spend that life tormented by the repercussions of this injury. We've already seen this in the NFL, and Crosby shouldn't have to fight the same demons as many former players have had to.


4. Number four is just to emphasize how awesome it is to see him lace up skates again. That deserves its own bulletpoint.


5. To all those people who said he was retiring, just shut up for a while. Do us all a favor.


Today was a good day, and the Crosby saga will continue, but hopefully we're now looking towards a happier ending.