Rumor: Something is not right with Sidney Crosby.

The National Hockey League's policy on the disclosure of player injuries and illnesses is going to become very annoying and in very quick fashion, and the latest example of this comes courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Penguins took to the ice on Saturday as part of their training camp for the upcoming 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs but there was a notable early departure from practice that we are now forced to speculate on. During a team scrimmage Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby suddenly left the ice early, raising a ton of eyebrows and leaving many to wonder why arguably the franchise's most important player was leaving the scrimmage ahead of his teammates. The expectation was of course that head coach Mike Sullivan would address the issue following the Penguins practice session, however as per the league's new rules Sullivan was unable to provide any clarity. 

"As the league has put forth these rules, we're not permitted to comment," was all that the head coach would say or could say on Saturday.

This of course will now lead to rampant speculation regarding any potential injuries for Crosby or even speculation that he may have come into contact with someone that could potentially put him or his teammates at risk of contracting COVID-19, the deadly virus that has caused this entire fiasco. The reality is however that we have no idea why Crosby left the scrimmage early but if I had to guess I would probably lean towards the likelihood of him having tweaked something on the ice, but that is pure speculation.

Crosby's teammates were not much help either, no surprise given that they have no doubt also been instructed not to share details regarding any potential player injury or illness.

"I don’t even need to touch on that. I think it’s just a maintenance thing. I don’t think it’s anything,” said teammate Connor Sheary.

The National Hockey League has put a moratorium on reporting any details regarding player injuries or illnesses during Phase 3 and Phase 4 of their planned Return to Play, something I firmly believe is unnecessary and something that I also strongly believe only serves to frustrate the fans of the players involved.