TORONTO - Sidney Crosby's hockey season isn't over after all.

The 37-year-old captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose team failed to make the NHL playoffs, is joining Team Canada for the men's world hockey championship, according to a Sunday announcement by Hockey Canada.

Crosby joins Pittsburgh’s Kyle Dubas, who is serving as Team Canada’s GM.

Canada's first game in the international tournament is Saturday against Slovakia in Stockholm, Sweden. The tournament is scheduled to run from May 9 to 25 in Stockholm and Herning, Denmark.

It will be the first time since 2015 that Crosby has played in the worlds. It will be his ninth time skating for Team Canada at the international level, most recently captaining Canada to the gold medal at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February when he led his team with four assists and five points.

This past season, his 20th in the NHL, Crosby had 33 goals and 91 points for the Penguins, who finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 11 points out of the playoffs.

Crosby led the Penguins in scoring for his franchise-record 15th time in his career and became the Penguins all-time assists leader, surpassing Mario Lemieux’s 1,033 helpers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.