Crosby debuted in the NHL during the 2005–2006 season, recording 102 points and finishing as runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy (for rookie of the year). By his second season, he led the NHL with 120 points to capture the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the youngest player and the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league. That same season, Crosby won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (MVP) and the Lester B. Pearson Award for most outstanding player as judged by his peers.[5] He started the 2007–08 season with the team's captaincy and subsequently led them to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The Penguins returned to the Finals against Detroit the following year and won in seven games; Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.[6] In 2009–10, he received the Mark Messier Leadership Award and scored 51 goals, winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer. In 2011, Crosby sustained a concussion as a result of hits to the head in back-to-back games. The injury left him sidelined for the rest of the season and for most of the 2011–12 campaign. In 2013–14, Crosby again won the Hart Memorial Trophy as well as his second Art Ross Trophy (104 points) and his third Ted Lindsay Award. Crosby led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, becoming the first player since his mentor Mario Lemieux to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in consecutive years. In 2017, he also captured his second Richard Trophy and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
Internationally, Crosby has represented Team Canada on numerous occasions. He won gold at the 2005 World Junior Championships, and was later named to Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Playing against the United States in the gold medal game, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Crosby captained Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, winning his second consecutive Olympic gold medal. A year later, he led his country to gold in the World Championship in Prague, thus becoming a member of the Triple Gold Club and the only player in the club to have captained all three winning teams. In 2016, Crosby captained Canada to gold in the World Cup of Hockey and was elected MVP by a unanimous vote.
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