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Report: Crosby unlikely to accept Spengler Cup invite

crosbygetty

James

The list of talented Spengler Cup invites continues to grow, but Sidney Crosby is likely to pass on the event, according to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.

Crosby would have played for Team Canada if he accepted the offer.

Garrioch doesn’t explain why Crosby rejected the opportunity, but one might justify his choice for the same reasons he hasn’t committed overseas yet: insurance worries and the ongoing CBA negotiations.

The 2012 Spengler Cup takes place from Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland. Along with Canada, the competition features host club Davos, Germany’s Adler Mannheim, Swizterland’s Fribourg-Gotteron, the Czech Republic’s Vitkovice Steel and Russia’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

Risking injury in such a small window of games probably isn’t a particularly enticing proposition for Crosby, but on the other hand, the Pittsburgh Penguins star must be itching to play.

He was limited to just 22 regular season and six playoff games in 2011-12, after all, with his last bit of NHL competition coming when his Penguins were eliminated from the 2012 playoffs on April 22.

Crosby isn’t the only prominent NHL player who received a call; The Canadian Press’ Chris Johnston reports that Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, Patrice Bergeron, John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Brooks Laich are among those who have also been approached so far.