Elliotte Friedman brushes off Connor McDavid's golden goal as 'not the official passing of the torch' from Sidney Crosby

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has played down the significance of Connor McDavid's overtime winner against the United States in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Friedman said it did not mark an official passing of the torch from Sidney Crosby to McDavid.

McDavid's game-winner brought was reminiscent of the golden goal scored by Crosby in the 2010 Olympics.

While McDavid has positioned himself to lead Canada going forward, Crosby is still expected to be the captain at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

On the "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman said it's too early to say if McDavid will take over.has

"Postgame with Crosby was great, because Crosby said how happy he was for McDavid, but this was not the official passing of the torch, and McDavid even said that postgame, pointing out we'll see Sid as the captain of Team Canada in 12 months at the Olympics, which are 350 days away," Friedman said on Friday.

"So no, we cannot talk about it yet, as the passing of the torch, the people who are going with that you are premature. Like a baby, you are premature. It's not yet."

Crosby is still delivering offensively for the Penguins with over 90 points in 2022-23 and 2023-24. This campaign, he has scored 17 goals and 58 points, proving that he has not missed a step. He has been an incredible leader for Canada in past tournaments. He captained Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014.

At the 4 Nations Face-Off, he recorded one goal and four assists in four games. His best game was against Sweden, where he had three assists.

McDavid also impressed, scoring three goals and providing two assists in four games.

Sidney Crosby hails "unbelievable" Connor McDavid after overtime win against Team USA

After Team Canada's thrilling victory against Team USA in the final, Crosby heaped praise on McDavid's heroics.

"And then obviously you get Davo (David) that big one there is huge," Crosby said. "We needed that. And he came in, came in the clutch, and couldn't be happier for him. He deserves it. I wasn't sure right away, because guys were jumping everywhere, but I realized it was him...He cares so much. Unbelievable player."

McDavid, meanwhile, said he expects to see Crosby firing on all cylinders even 12 months down the line.

“I don’t think you see a passing of any torch. He had a great tournament, he’s a big part of our group, and I think you’ll see him in a year’s time.”