Mellon Arena Memories - Sidney Crosby - 07-30-10
Today is the Penguins' last official day in Mellon Arena. They have inhabited this facility since 1967. Outside of a few legal scuffles with the IRS in which they were literally padlocked out of the building, they have never known another home. And that ends today.
We have attempted to chronicle the experiences of this building since the start of the past season with the various players, executives, coaches and broadcasters (a request to speak to the owner was politely declined) who have played or worked in this unique facility over the years in a feature called "Mellon Arena Memories." This post is the last entry of that feature. Today's subject is Sidney Crosby.
Sidney Crosby is currently the captain of the Penguins. He came to the organization after being drafted with the first overall pick in the 2005 draft. He has played a major role in the franchise's and the NHL's resurrection since the 2004-05 lockout half a decade ago.
A star in Canada since his childhood, Crosby came to Pittsburgh with immense expectations in 2005. And with big name additions such as Sergei Gonchar, Mark Recchi, Zigmund Palffy, John Leclair joining the likes of Mario Lemieux, the Penguins were expected to become an instant playoff contender. Things didn't work out quite as expected as Lemieux and Palffy retired, Gonchar and Leclair disappointed and Recchi was traded. But throughout that campaign, Crosby was consistent in his brilliance. He became the youngest player in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark and broke Lemieux's franchise record (100) for points by a rookie with 102. He would finish second to his rival, Washington's Alex Ovechkin, in voting for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie.
The Penguins made wholesale changes in 2006-07 with the hiring of new general manager Ray Shero. With the additions of Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins were able to reach the postseason for the first time in six years on the strength of Crosby's league-leading 120-points. At 19, Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to claim the Art Ross Trophy. Crosby was also won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP that season and was selected to his first all-star game.
After being named captain in the offseason, Crosby would miss much of the 2007-08 season due to an ankle injury. Despite his absence, the Penguins were able to win the Atlantic Division, their first division crown in a decade. Crosby saw action in 53 games that season and contributed 72 points. In the postseason, he was second in the league with 27 points and helped lead the team to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1992.
In 2008-09, Crosby appeared in 77 games and returned to the 100-point plateau with 103 points. A midseason coaching change and a few trades helped the team vault from 10th place in the standings in February to fourth-place by the end of the regular season. And in the postseason, Crosby's production (31 points) was second only to Malkin (37). They were the first-pair of teammates to score 30 or more points in a postseason since the Rangers' Brian Leetch and Mark Messier in 1994. And on June 12, 2009, Crosby received the Stanley Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to celebrate the franchise's third league title.
Never considered a true goal-scorer before 2009-10, Crosby went about shattering that reputation this past season. In 81 games, he led the league with 51 goals (his previous 
career-high was 39) and once again hit 100 points with 109, second only to Vancouver's Henrik Sedin (112). Despite 19 points by Crosby in 13 postseason games, the Penguins' bid for a second consecutive Stanley Cup title came to an end at the hands of the Canadiens in the second round.
In just five seasons, Crosby has 183 goals, 323 assists and 506 points. Each of those totals are the seventh-most in franchise history. And since the lockout, only Ovechkin (529) and San Jose's Joe Thornton (510), each winners of the Hart Trophy during that span, have scored more points in the NHL.
With regards to postseason play, Crosby has appeared in 62 games and scored 30 goals (fifth-most in franchise history), 52 assists (sixth-most) and 82 points (fifth-most).
First memory of Mellon/Civic Arena:
"The one that sticks out the most is Mario’s (Lemieux) comeback against Toronto. I think he got a point his first shift or I think he got an assist. I remember that was my first memory of actually watching the Penguins on TV."
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First memory of Mellon/Civic Arena in person:
"Coming here in the summer (of 2005). There was no ice in there at the time. But I remember just walking around. That was the first time I saw the rink. I came here in August or something just to see the city and meet people and stuff. That was my first experience. Obviously my first on the ice would be my first goal, first home game (against Boston). That will be one I always remember for sure."
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On beating Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore in a shootout during his rookie season:
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"For your rookie season with shootouts and things like that, I remember being a little bit more nervous. But for that one, I remember being so excited for the chance I had. Here I was playing in the NHL playing this team I grew up watching and having the chance to win the game on a shootout. And on a shot like hat, it was very memorable. I just remember being so excited for that chance. I don’t remember being that nervous or anything. Just trying to have fun with it."
Best memory of his rookie season:
"My 100th point. We were second to last that year. I remember that game was our last home game of the year. It was sold out. Everybody had a white towel. It felt like a playoff game. As players, we all kind of appreciate that. For me, I was going for my 100th point. It was kind of a big thing and exciting thing. That’s kind of he closest we got to a playoff atmosphere that first year."
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On a goal he scored against the Lightning, Jan. 7, 2007:
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"I remember just trying to get into the play. I remember leaning over to try and kind of find the puck because it was coming underneath the guy. It was a little ahead of me so I just dove and I remember thinking afterwards that I was lucky that I hit the net because I was going pretty fast to slide that close to the boards head first. It would’ve been pretty dangerous. Kind of thanked the fact that I hit the net and that turned out pretty good."
On playing his first home playoff game against the Senators, April 15, 2007:
"I remember being just real excited and not knowing what to expect. Seeing the crowd and the atmosphere. Just wanting to play as many possible games like that as possible. Until you get to experience, you don’t know what it’s going to be like."
On getting his 100th career goal, 200th career assist and 300th point against the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2008:
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"I remember the goal. I banged it off I think (Mikhail) Grabovski. It was against Curtis Joseph which was pretty cool. I grew up watching him a lot. That was pretty neat. I remember ‘Geno’ (Evgeni Malkin) had a milestone game in the same game (His 200th career point). I think we cut the puck in half. It was pretty cool to share it with him. I don’t remember a ton about that game, but I do remember we both had a milestone that night."
Favorite overall memory of Mellon/Civic Arena:"I think it was Game 4 (of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final). We scored like three goals in the second period. I scored on a two-one-one and then ‘TK’ (Tyler Kennedy) right after that. Somebody scored right before that. I think it was Staalsy (Jordan Staal). Yeah, he scored he shorthanded one. We scored three within like three minutes. And I remember that’s the loudest I think I ever heard the place consistently. It was just deafening in here."
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Is there anything he absolutley dislikes about Mellon/Civic Arena:
"No... I love it here. I love this rink. I mean I like how close the fans are. I like the glass. I like the noise. There’s nothing I don’t like about here. I don’t think I can complain about anything here. I really like our set up here."Favorite part of Mellon/Civic Arena:
"I would say the locker room and the crowd. I like how close everyone is in the locker room. I like the fact that the lounge is right there and the training room. Everything is pretty close. It feels like you’re around people all the time which is good. But the fact that the crowd is on top of everybody. I know with a lot of the newer buildings, there’s a restriction on the grade of the rink and the level of the stands. This one has that old feel to it where it’s straight up and everyone’s right on top of you. And when you score, you feel like you’re in the middle of everyone. It’s a great atmosphere in here."
(Photos: First, second, third and sixth-Peter Diana/Post-Gazette; Fourth-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Fifth-Dave Sandford/Getty Images)