After finally emerging from the specter of a 2004-05 season lost to a prolonged work stoppage, the NHL launched a pivotal ad campaign in 2008 built around a group of star players it hoped could lead the sport into an exciting new era. The campaign featured Patrick Kane, Henrik Lundqvist and Dion Phaneuf, but is remembered mostly for a spot featuring a player who was about to take over the game.
Filmed around the time of Sidney Crosby's 21st birthday, the commercial starred the Pittsburgh Penguins captain just weeks after his team had lost in a grueling six-game Stanley Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings.