LATEST | Sidney Crosby shaken to his core after the passing of his mentor
There's been a significant shake-up in Pittsburgh over the past few weeks as they've fired their whole front office, mostly made of Brian Burke (President of Hockey Ops) and Ron Hextall (General Manager). They've turned over a new leaf with their latest hiring of Kyle Dubas, the former Maple Leafs GM, who's now taken over the Hockey Operations.
While Crosby should be in a place of happiness, he's currently quite shaken up since one of the most influential personas from the earlier stages of his career has just passed. In his junior days, Crosby was lining up with the Rimouski Oceanic, where Doris Labonte coached him. The pair grew quite close, and Crosby kept in touch with him through the years; it was announced earlier today that he had passed from a long battle with cancer.
Crosby shared an interview with the Journal de Montreal, where he explained what his former coach meant to him and how they grew close.
Labonte holds quite the record to this day as a Junior Head Coach. In 2000, his team won the QMJHL Title and the Memorial Cup and was awarded the Coach of The Year Award.
We wish to send our deepest condolences to the man who dedicated a lot of time to grooming the players and the game of hockey. Through the years, Labonte will have participated in the development of many NHL greats alongside Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Stephan Lebeau, Felix Potvin, Yanic Perreault, Patrick Lalime, and Stephane Robidas.
CRÉDIT: Flyers Insider
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