Ex-Penguins wanted to strip Sidney Crosby of captaincy!

He's been the face of the National Hockey League since he was drafted with the 1st overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and by the time that it is all said and done, he will go down as one of the all time great figures in hockey history. 

Since being bestowed with the team captaincy prior to his sophomore season at the tender age of 19, Crosby has led his team to three Stanley Cup championships while also accumulating countless personal accolades. Simply put, he's been the leader of the Penguins for over a decade and a half.

But what were the chances of his having the captaincy taken away from him? According to a shocking story that first came out last summer, it appears as though that some of his now-former teammates were hoping to make that happen. But it was Crosby's longest tenured teammate who allegedly put the kibosh on any such discussion of anyone other than No. 87 wearing the captain's "C" on his jersey. 

Per Josh Yohe of The Athletic: 

"It was 2011. Crosby was still out with the concussion and had been out for the better part of a year. There was a now infamous meeting in the Penguins' locker room. On one side stood Brooks Orpik, Jordan Staal, Craig Adams and Matt Cooke. Those four were exploring the possibility of naming someone else team captain until Crosby came back. On the other side of the debate were Marc-Andre Fleury, Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Arron Asham. A rather heated discussion broke out. At the end, Malkin made his point clear: 'Guys. Sid is the f****** captain.' Then he left the room. And the conversation was over."

It would have been a beyond bizarre thing to see someone other than Crosby with the captaincy for the Penguins, and even more surprising that it was allegedly a group of teammates who wanted to see that happen.