When an athlete becomes the best player his sport has ever seen, everyone wants to anoint a successor. The NBA hopes LeBron James will be the “new” Michael Jordan; NHL fans herald Sidney Crosby as their latest Next One to assume the throne once held by The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

Talk about high expectations. Gretzky won nine Hart Trophies and four Stanley Cups while obliterating nearly every scoring record in the book. And he did it with iconic flair, taking both Hollywood and Broadway by storm.

Crosby is well on his way. In a league where scoring is at a premium compared to 20 years ago, “Sid the Kid” topped the 100-point mark in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart as a sophomore. Now all he has to do to match Gretzky is stay at the top of his game for another decade and lead a Pittsburgh Penguins dynasty. Piece of cake.