Team Canada won't have Sidney Crosby or Jonathan Toews in the fold next month as both players turned down invitations to play at the World Hockey Championship.
Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson says his client wants to spend next four months training and working towards next season.
Because of his concussion issues, Crosby wasn't able to train last summer as aggressively as he would have liked and given his ongoing issues in season, he wants to make sure he's 100 percent ready for training camp.
The 24-year-old, who has represented Canada at the World Junior Championship, World Championship and the Winter Olympics in years past, had eight goals and 37 points in 22 NHL games this season.
"Typically, I'd be there in a second, but this isn't a normal situation and this isn't me trying to hide away from the world championships," Crosby told the Canadian Press. "I love playing for Team Canada.
"Anyone who is questioning that right now obviously doesn't know me or aren't thinking right."
Toews, who saw his Chicago Blackhawks get eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday, missed the last 22 games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. Like Crosby, Toews would like to focus getting back to full health.
