I think I see what Strombad is getting at and why it is getting past a few people.
Crosby IS the most marketable player in the NHL. He is the amassador for the sport whether you like him or not. Any sports fan, even those who know nothing about hockey, knows who Sidney Crosby is. Just like Tiger Woods, just like Michael Jordan, Pele, Beckham, GRETZKY, etc... He is the face of his sport. That's not to say he is the greatest of all time. Only time can tell that and unless Crosby explodes at some point, he won't touch Gretzky stats-wise, but that doesn't mean he can't have a similar role within the sport.
Think of Beckham. Was he the best of all-time in his sport? Definitely not. Was he the best of his era? Very very debatable. But people know Beckham is synonmous with soccer. He has sold the sport to a generation of people (and to floundering markets) through elite level play as well as branding. We see the same thing Crosby.
He is not being deployed as the "saviour" like Gretzky because, frankly, hockey is doing quite well. But it wasn't when he first entered the league. It had been bogged down by stand-still defense and boring champions. Yes they did change (or more strictly enforce) a bunch of rules to help the game play, but Crosby came in as an 18-year old and exploded like we hadn't seen from a young player in a very very long time. I think I can bring it down to pne phrase from the British broadcast of the 2010 gold medal game; "Ohhhh Sidney Crosby, it had to be!" That line tells me that the world views Crosby as synonmous with hockey.
And while I think goalies and general play style helped Gretzky with his impossible numbers somewhat. I think a larger factor is the narrowing of the talent gap between the top NHL players and the 4th line players.
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