Maurice: Crosby has same presence, character as Gretzky

Paul Maurice respects his opponent.

The Winnipeg Jets bench boss openly praised Sidney Crosby on Thursday, prior to his team's matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Crosby sits at 999 career points and will look to reach the millennial mark in the contest against Winnipeg.

But that didn't stop Maurice from giving the Penguins captain a few early accolades.

"He's been the face of the NHL from the day he came into the league. He was exceptional at a very young age and then also not an easy story for him with the injuries," Maurice told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "Then, to his credit and character and will, he pushed himself back to be the elite player."

That approach reminds Maurice of many past greats who have graced the NHL.

"Every interview that you ever see, he's just been a wonderful ambassador to the game," Maurice continued. "You listen to him talk and you flip over and listen to Gretzky talk and any of the legends and they have that same presence, that same character with the game. They take care of the game."

In 30 career games versus the Jets franchise, Crosby has come away with 47 points. He hopes to push that total to at least 48 on Thursday night.