Pittsburgh Penguins captain and three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby having his name mentioned in trade rumors became a bit of an offseason tradition before he agreed to a two-year contract extension this past September and before the club surprisingly parted ways with head coach Mike Sullivan in late April.
Sullivan is now the head coach of the New York Rangers.
For a mailbag published on Monday, Penguins insider Josh Yohe of The Athletic touched upon whether or not Crosby could request a trade following Sullivan’s departure.
“I don’t see that happening,” Yohe wrote. “…It’s not ideal for Crosby, who is close with Sullivan on a personal level, to say nothing of his admiration of Sullivan as a coach. Crosby, of course, is famously set in his ways and very comfortable with Sullivan as his coach. The Penguins captain is also very smart and a total professional. I’m sure he understands what (Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager) Kyle Dubas is dealing with. Crosby also understands perfectly well that, despite his own greatness, the Penguins haven’t reached the playoffs in three years. He knows change is inevitable when that is the case.”
Crosby has been a one-club man since he made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the fall of 2005. Many assumed after the 37-year-old put pen to paper on his extension that he and Sullivan would be a package deal, as Sullivan had been in the job since December 2015.
While Sullivan guided Pittsburgh to Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, it became clear before Christmas 2024 that the Penguins’ ongoing rebuild won’t be completed this offseason. On Monday, Yohe noted he thinks center Evgeni Malkin “probably will retire after next season.” Additionally, defenseman and fellow franchise icon Kris Letang underwent surgery to repair a small hole in his heart in April.
ESPN NHL analyst John Buccigross is among those who suggested after Sullivan and the Penguins agreed to part ways that Crosby could ask for a trade to pursue one last title before he rides off into the sunset of retirement. On Monday, Yohe addressed how Dubas ultimately decided that Sullivan was no longer the right man for the Pittsburgh job.
“Sullivan and Dubas spoke on a couple of occasions after the season, once at Sullivan’s home in Boston. There was a difference in opinion about how quickly the Penguins can and should aggressively move toward being a playoff team again,” Yohe explained. “Dubas is willing to be more patient than Sullivan was.”
Crosby presumably will also be patient, as he’s never given any real indication he will go ring-chasing in the twilight of his career. However, one wonders if Dubas’ upcoming offseason activities could cause Crosby to have second thoughts about how he wants to finish one of the greatest careers in NHL history.
