B/R Open Ice: Frank Seravalli on Sidney Crosby and all the speculation about his future, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Montreal Canadiens.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“What is going on with Sidney Crosby? Perfect segue into the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that is, well, there have been these rumors that have been floating out there for months on end.
Sidney Crosby wants to be a forever Penguin. Sidney Crosby has experienced a downturn for the Penguins, being out of contention somewhat early. And he spoke to reporters at the NHL playoff player media tour in Vegas, excuse me, and reiterated some of a little bit of that frustration.
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And he said, specifically, as it related to the Montreal Canadiens, I get why it would come up and that sort of thing. It doesn’t make it any easier when you’re losing to hear those things, but at the same time, to know that a team like that, meaning Montreal wants you, it’s not the end of the world. It could be worse.
So, really kind of interesting quote. This is the childhood favorite team of Sidney Crosby. He reiterated in that conversation with reporters in Vegas, his love for the Montreal Canadiens, and I’d have to think that being faded by the Bell Center crowd last year at Four Nations Faceoff, which just being in the building makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, that had to feel good.
And there’s zero doubt. Also, like, let’s be totally clear that the Montreal Canadiens would do anything to get their hands on Sidney Crosby, even at this age. With how productive and consistent he’s been, plus the leadership caliber and quality that he brings, they’d be all for it.
But I think the Penguins are in a spot where they’re not going to approach their captain, who wants to be a forever Penguin. It’s going to be up to Sidney Crosby to raise his hand and say, I’d like to move on and just listening to his comments, and also listening to the comments from his agent in CAA’s Pat Brisson. That doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon.
However, no one has really officially closed the door on it and said, Hey, that’s never going to happen. They just said, this is a conversation that will continue to evolve.
I also tend to believe that it’s not one that would happen mid-season, so I’m not expecting something this year, but who knows what one year’s time will play out like? What next summer will play out like? Because that has certainly been percolating under the surface.
And a lot of people have said, Oh, well, wouldn’t Sidney Crosby just Crosby just go to Denver to play with Nathan McKinnon in Colorado? I think the Canadians, for a lot of different reasons, a team on the rise, a team that desperately wants him, a place that he’s familiar with, a place that there’s some nostalgia for him growing up a Habs fan, and his dad being a Habs fan, that, that might check a lot of boxes. Also playing in Canada to close out his career.
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But he’s never verbalized that publicly to anyone, and to be honest, from everyone that I could talk to that’s in Sidney Crosby’s orbit, he’s never actually really verbalized that to anyone privately, either. This is a guy who is so laser focused on trying to make the Pittsburgh Penguins as best as possible, and he has certainly held up his end of the bargain there.”
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