Behind The Net
Crosby Set to Return for Stretch Run
By Bob Grove

As a group, National Hockey League general managers were probably not getting a lot of sleep in the days leading up to the trade deadline late last month. They had all the usual challenges of trying to make the right moves for their teams while 29 of their peers were doing the same, but this time around many had their hands full just trying to figure out if they should be sellers or buyers.

With six weeks to go in the regular season, only nine points separated the No. 6 New York Rangers and No. 14 Toronto in the Eastern Conference, while only five points separated No. 1 Ottawa from No. 5 Montreal. In the Western Conference, only eight points separated No. 5 San Jose from No. 13 Chicago.

"It's so tight, it's crazy to look at the standings," said former Penguins' right wing Colby Armstrong before being dealt to Atlanta in a deadline deal.

As crazy as the standings were, it seemed entirely possible that Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero was getting his share of sleep, because he stood to be a winner even if he didn't aqquire sniper Marian Hossa at the deadline.

"Ray Shero is making the best move at the deadline," quipped TSN play-by-play man Gord Miller just days before the Feb. 26 deadline. "He's getting Sidney Crosby back."

Crosby, who suffered a high ankle sprain Jan. 18, was hoping to return to the Penguins' lineup by early March. And his wasn't the only return of note for Pittsburgh. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was scheduled to come back in late February after missing 35 games with his own high ankle sprain, and veteran left wing Gary Roberts was skating in hopes of returning this month from a broken leg.

Adding those three guys, in addition to Hossa, winger Pascal Dupuis and defenseman Hal Gill, to a team that has been one of the NHL's best without them looked like the perfect storm for a team preparing for the stretch run to the playoffs.

It certainly will be exciting for Crosby, who was rehabilitating from a major injury for the first time. The guy's been through a lot already in his hockey career, but watching his team play night after night after night was trying.

"Mentally, it's a grind," he said as February wound down. "Mentally, I think this is more wearing than playing the season, to be honest. Pretty much everything you do is based on getting back: the way you train, the way you eat, the way you get treatment. You spend a lot more time at the rink than you would if you were playing.

"With all that, you're around the guys and they're playing and you're not, and that's not easy to take. It's a wearing experience, but at the same time it's something that's going to make you better."

It was taking all the patience Crosby could muster up, too, because high ankle sprains require a lot of it. On the ice, he was working hard to return to the lineup in the team's stated six-to-eight week timeframe, but by week five he admitted: "There's not much you can do to improve it besides waiting."

But true to his nature, he was trying to turn the whole process into a positive - even spending every game watching from the press box or corporate box.

"When you're up top, you can see where some of the open ice is, and you can use it to your advantage," he said. "I'm a big believer in taking what you can from every situation, and if there's anything when I'm watching. . . I'm trying to pick up little things."