Sidney Crosby Joins Canada Roster for Men's World Hockey Championships

Hockey Canada announced on Tuesday that Sidney Crosby will join the national team for the men's world hockey championships in Switzerland. The 38-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins captain becomes available after his team was eliminated from the NHL playoffs two weeks ago.

This will be Crosby's fourth career appearance at the tournament and his second in consecutive years. He most recently captained Canada's silver medal-winning team at the Milan Cortina Games in February but was unable to finish the event after sustaining a lower-body injury that sidelined him for nearly a month.

The announcement coincided with word that a New York Islanders forward will not participate because of an injury precaution. Two other players, one from Philadelphia and one from New Jersey, were added to the roster hours before the update on Crosby.

" Crosby is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation's Triple Gold Club, having won Olympic gold, world championship gold and the Stanley Cup. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, scoring the championship-clinching overtime goal in Canada's 3-2 victory over the United States.

Crosby also helped Canada win gold at the 2015 world championships and has won the Stanley Cup three times with Pittsburgh.

Canada opens the 17-day, 16-nation tournament against Sweden on Friday. The event runs through late May. Crosby is from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.