QMJHL Announces League-Wide Retirement of Crosby's #87

[Staniowski]

Following last season's 50th anniversary celebrations, the league has announced Sidney Crosby's #87 will be retired by the league.

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[Staniowski]

QMJHL to retire Sidney Crosby's No. 87 across league - Sportsnet.ca

 

[The Panther]

I'm against that kind of thing. No point.

 

[VanIslander]

Look at the other great juniors not number retired.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Embarrassing

 

[VanIslander]

Ridiculous.

Mario Lemieux scored 282 points in a Q league season, Crosby not even top 35 (has had less than half that many points).

Lafontaine (opps American - don't honor him), Lafleur, Robitaille, Hawerchuk, ... all have had more impressive seasons.

Careerwise in the Q...
HHOFers...

Mario Lemieux 562 points
Mike Bossy 532 points
Guy Carbonneau 435 points
Luc Robitaille 424 points
.
.
.
Sidney Crosby 293 points (not top 90).

The point: Crosby did not have one of the greatest seasons nor one of the greatest junior careers in the Q, but he had skill and projected greatness which he delivered on post-juniors. ARE JUNIORS TEAMS RETIRING POPULAR NHL SUPERSTARS OR... THE JUNIORS BEST?

 

[Michael Farkas]

While I don't agree or care about the number retirement...why would anyone say the above like that ^

 

[Staniowski]

Ridiculous.

Mario Lemieux scored 282 points in a Q league season, Crosby not even top 35 (has had less than half that many points).

Lafontaine (opps American - don't honor him), Lafleur, Robitaille, Hawerchuk, ... all have had more impressive seasons.

Careerwise in the Q...
HHOFers...

Mario Lemieux 562 points
Mike Bossy 532 points
Guy Carbonneau 435 points
Luc Robitaille 424 points
.
.
.
Sidney Crosby 293 points (not top 90).

Crosby's record in the Q is pretty impressive, though.

To start, he was CHL Player of the Year in both of his seasons in Rimouski. When he was 16 and when he was 17.

Led the Q in scoring by wide margins both seasons. (Lemieux didn't lead the league in scoring in either of his 16 or 17 year old seasons). MVP of league both seasons.

He really couldn't have performed any better, I don't think.

 

[JackSlater]

I don't like league wide retirements, but Crosby was extremely impressive in junior hockey. I enjoyed seeing him in person a few times back then. I do think that he has the most impressive first two years in the QMJHL, pretty comfortably, but I'd still rather not have numbers retired league wide.

 

[Staniowski]

These kinds of things are about marketing and about the future, not the past. His Q record is sterling, so that helps, but he is the most famous hockey player in the world to today's generation. Memories of Lemieux, Lafleur, etc. are getting faint.

Another thing is that Crosby was always very vocal about his love of Rimouski, an almost entirely French-speaking city, and he learned to speak French during his 2 years there. I think a lot of people appreciated that. Crosby likely only knew a few words from his school days in Nova Scotia, prior to going to Rimouski. And he took the Stanley Cup to Rimouski in the summer of 2017.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i have no idea what crosby meant/means to that league, or fans in the cities in that league, or quebec/atlantic canada in general, so i can’t really judge.

if they like it, go nuts. if it stinks, it’s for them to pile on, imo.

the post above by @Staniowski is helpful and interesting; i did not know that. any native informants care to shed some more light?

 

[JackSlater]

Crosby always speaks very positively about his time in Rimouski and junior hockey in general. I recall that when he won all kinds of awards of the 2004 QMJHL award ceremony, he was embarrassed that he couldn't really accept the awards in French. By the 2005 award ceremony he was able to passably accept the awards and make speeches in French. He put in effort on that front and people appreciate that.

 

[K Fleur]

I’m kinda against league wide jersey retirements, but it’s whatever.

Ridiculous.

Mario Lemieux scored 282 points in a Q league season, Crosby not even top 35 (has had less than half that many points).

Lafontaine (opps American - don't honor him), Lafleur, Robitaille, Hawerchuk, ... all have had more impressive seasons.

Careerwise in the Q...
HHOFers...

Mario Lemieux 562 points
Mike Bossy 532 points
Guy Carbonneau 435 points
Luc Robitaille 424 points
.
.
.
Sidney Crosby 293 points (not top 90).

The point: Crosby did not have one of the greatest seasons nor one of the greatest junior careers in the Q, but he had skill and projected greatness which he delivered on post-juniors. ARE JUNIORS TEAMS RETIRING POPULAR NHL SUPERSTARS OR... THE JUNIORS BEST?

^^I really hope people in this thread read the posts that come after this one so they can have some actual knowledge/context as to the level of Junior player Crosby was. Because this post isn’t going to give you any of that.

 

[VanIslander]

These kinds of things are about marketing and about the future, not the past. His Q record is sterling, so that helps, but he is the most famous hockey player in the world to today's generation. Memories of Lemieux, Lafleur, etc. are getting faint.

Oh, we agree it's a future-oriented marketing move. It's not about honoring the very best, greatest juniors players, about hockey history per se, but about selling and promoting., hype, likes and social media LCD moving forward.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Crosby’s number 87 retired across QMJHL

Pure class.

I'll never understand why someone doesn't like him as a person. I get not liking him because he's on a rival but the dude has personified class and how to go about being a professional. The work he does away from hockey is massive both back home in Canada and around Pittsburgh. I could not think of a better role model for young kids, whether you're talking about hockey or life today. Work ethic, drama free, acting like you've been there before, never resting on your laurels. The constant leadership and repeated trips to the top of the mountain across all levels.

I don't really care about jersey retirements, for reasons others have stated, but shockingly (not) multiple people are in this thread already trashing the moment. There is just so much anti-Sid bias, and the interesting, yet bewildering reason seems to be, he had this Gretzky-esque hype before he ever laced up NHL skates. And that was never his fault. He didn't ask for the recognition. The guy hates being in the spotlight (anyone can see how uncomfortable he was last night) but many people just don't like him, in large part, because of hype other people created and placed on his shoulders.

Rimouski ended up being a temporary home for Sid and as an extension, his family. He took to the culture (which is very different from say NS), learned the language and speaks very highly of his time there. The people love him and this was a touching moment.

FYI:

The Nova Scotian gathered plenty of hardware, winning multiple QMJHL and CHL awards along the way. He captured the prestigious Paul-Dumont trophy awarded to the League’s top personality twice, two Michel-Brière trophies as Most Valuable Player and one playoff MVP crown (Guy-Lafleur trophy). He remains the only player in history to win back to back CHL Player of the Year awards. Crosby also captured silver at the 2004 World Junior Championship and gold the following year.

 

[The Panther]

I'll never understand why someone doesn't like him as a person.

Does anyone over 12 not like him as a person? No one in this thread has expressed that.

I think the issue is not whether or not we like Crosby as a person/player. I'm pretty sure in the History of Hockey forum, everyone at least respects the guy. The completely separate issue is whether we think numbers should have League-wide retirement. I personally think that's silly.

Basically, I'm against any contemporary deifying of a person. I remember someone making the point once (with regards to a human-rights social leader whom I won't mention as this forum doesn't allow us to acknowledge the existence of politics) that it is very dangerous to deify a living or recently deceased person because it makes future generations feel that the person is beyond human-level, and that his/her level of achievement is unattainable -- both of those conclusions being counter-productive to social development.

I agree, and, though, it's just games we're talking about here, the same principal applies. Heck, I even feel uncomfortable sometimes with NHL-teams' jersey retirement ceremonies.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Does anyone over 12 not like him as a person? No one in this thread has expressed that.

I think the issue is not whether or not we like Crosby as a person/player. I'm pretty sure in the History of Hockey forum, everyone at least respects the guy. The completely separate issue is whether we think numbers should have League-wide retirement. I personally think that's silly.

Basically, I'm against any contemporary deifying of a person. I remember someone making the point once (with regards to a human-rights social leader whom I won't mention as this forum doesn't allow us to acknowledge the existence of politics) that it is very dangerous to deify a living or recently deceased person because it makes future generations feel that the person is beyond human-level, and that his/her level of achievement is unattainable -- both of those conclusions being counter-productive to social development.

I agree, and, though, it's just games we're talking about here, the same principal applies. Heck, I even feel uncomfortable sometimes with NHL-teams' jersey retirement ceremonies.

It's always the snap reactions to these types of honors as they pertain to Crosby. It's very obvious that no matter what, negativity, of varying degrees will seemingly be the lead narrative for some people. As with the hype, this sort of honor wasn't the players doing. So instead of attacking the player ("he didn't score as many Q points as Mario and many others", "embarrassing", etc), go deeper. Read between the lines. I say that about every facet of life....

I'm not saying that I can definitively prove anyone does or doesn't like the guy as a person. I mean, to be honest, how could any of us decipher the quality of character for a professional athlete? The overwhelming majority here, have no inside information to use. We might have met them briefly or even carried on a conversation with them but all in all, we go off what we see on TV, read, and digest what teammates, coaches, peers, etc say about them. And obviously, Crosby, in that regard, has a sterling reputation.

But if you want to dig deeper into the theological and social impact of deifying, any person, I would agree, it is very, very problematic, which you alluded to.

Now, with that being said, I think most sane people can separate "false idols" and obsession, with admiration and appreciation for witnessing talent that goes beyond the norm. However, our young people today are incredibly inundated with trends, what's popular, what isn't, who's the sexiest man/woman, as if all of those things aren't different for everyone. But I digress.

I don't really care one way or the other when it comes to retiring #'s or building statues. I fully realize these players are just human beings like the rest of us. They're real people, not super heroes.

 

[BenchBrawl]

The LHJMQ did a Top 50 greatest LHJMQ players of all-time list recently—Lafleur was 1st, Lemieux 2nd and Crosby 3rd.

Lafontaine and Larouche filled up the Top 5.

Search Results for “tag:top-50-lhjmq” – LHJMQ

 

[ImporterExporter]

I'll tell you what, watching those 70's Habs, Lafleur was a boss. That guy could glide, set up or finish. Pure offensive dynamo. Big game player.

 

[seventieslord]

To be honest, my first reaction was, "really, Crosby? I hope they also retired #66, then." Because Lemieux was an even more dominant junior player, wasn't he? But the truth is, I'm not even 100% sure of that because I don't follow juniors that closely and all I know is that Lemieux scored some crazy point totals (and was basically a full year older than Crosby while being the same draft age, and yes, that does matter)

 

[BenchBrawl]

To be honest, my first reaction was, "really, Crosby? I hope they also retired #66, then." Because Lemieux was an even more dominant junior player, wasn't he? But the truth is, I'm not even 100% sure of that because I don't follow juniors that closely and all I know is that Lemieux scored some crazy point totals (and was basically a full year older than Crosby while being the same draft age, and yes, that does matter)

Well since they ranked Lafleur and Lemieux higher than Crosby, it looks like they think Lemieux was better. Not sure why they retire Crosby in particular—seems random.

 

[bobholly39]

To be honest, my first reaction was, "really, Crosby? I hope they also retired #66, then." Because Lemieux was an even more dominant junior player, wasn't he? But the truth is, I'm not even 100% sure of that because I don't follow juniors that closely and all I know is that Lemieux scored some crazy point totals (and was basically a full year older than Crosby while being the same draft age, and yes, that does matter)

Its just good timing.

Crosby has been so busy with the NHL he hasnt had time to go back to Rimouski before. They apparently wanted to honor him before but it was hard to make time and he had always said no.

50th anniverasary, that list just came out, he's the face of the NHL....made sense as a marketing/PR move to do it now. Retiring Lemieux instead as they honor Crosby would be weird timing.

Its not meant to be indicative of "Hey Crosby is the best"

 

[daver]

Well since they ranked Lafleur and Lemieux higher than Crosby, it looks like they think Lemieux was better. Not sure why they retire Crosby in particular—seems random.

Their relative dominance was quite close when you consider the different scoring levels at the time they each played. Unlike Mario, Crosby didn't skip the WJCs so his stats could look even better. Crosby was as much a phenom as Wayne and Mario coming into the NHL.

Crosby > LaFleur given Guy played as an 18 and 19 year old.

You really think it is random to retire the # of the only player to ever win the CHL player of the year award twice (and possibly as the youngest winner both times)?

 

[BenchBrawl]

Their relative dominance was quite close when you consider the different scoring levels at the time they each played. Unlike Mario, Crosby didn't skip the WJCs so his stats could look even better. Crosby was as much a phenom as Wayne and Mario coming into the NHL.

Crosby > LaFleur given Guy played as an 18 and 19 year old.

You really think it is random to retire the # of the only player to ever win the CHL player of the year award twice (and possibly as the youngest winner both times)?

Regardless of the numbers Mario was a more talented prospect than Crosby. Lemieux was the best prospect of all-time.

I said random, not undeserved. It's random insofar as they didn't retire Lafleur's or Mario's.

 

[daver]

Regardless of the numbers Mario was a more talented prospect than Crosby. Lemieux was the best prospect of all-time.

I said random, not undeserved. It's random insofar as they didn't retire Lafleur's or Mario's.

Maybe, Crosby would have been almost a year younger and just as dominant offensively. Maybe you go with Mario's size i guess.

But how was he better than Wayne who had a great WJC as a highlight?