Sidney Crosby Talks Canadiens, NHL Trade Rumors amid Penguins' Playoff Drought

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby says he understands why there are trade rumors surrounding him as he heads into his 21st NHL season with a team not expected to compete for a Stanley Cup next season.

Crosby, who turned 38 in August, set an NHL record with his 20th consecutive point-per-game season last spring. The Penguins still missed out on the playoffs for a third consecutive year.

"I understand it," Crosby said Monday during the NHL player media tour in Las Vegas, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. "That's the hard part about losing. Everybody thinks that the losing is the buzzer goes, you lose a game and that sucks, but there's so much more than that. It's the turnover. It's the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks. That's the stuff that's tough."

Crosby continued, "It hasn't changed my approach. I still go out there trying to win every single game and try to be the best that I can be, and I think that youth and having that energy around you isn't a bad thing either. We've got a lot of hungry guys, a lot of competition for spots. I think you just try to find different things that you can feed off of and still continue to learn through it."

Crosby was then asked about speculation connecting him to an interest in the Montreal Canadiens, according to Whyno.

"I get it, trust me," Crosby answered. "They're so into it, and I get it as to why that would come up and that sort of thing. It doesn't make it any easier when you're losing, for sure, to hear those things, but at the same time, to know that a team like that wants you, it's not the end of the world. It could be worse. I just think that's part of it."

Crosby's agent Pat Brisson, meanwhile, told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun when asked Monday about trade speculation surrounding his client: "Well, it's a reality."

"First of all, he's been so consistent for 20 years. He had another great year last season. He just keeps going. The comparison is Tom Brady," Brisson said, per LeBrun. "We want Sidney to hopefully be in the playoffs every year. We want him to hopefully win another Cup or two.

"So each year the team that he's playing for fails to make the playoffs, it creates a lot of speculation. In reality, he's not getting any younger. We're here to support him. It's the beginning of the season here. Let's see how things are going. Hopefully they have a great season and the speculation will go away."

Brisson was then asked if Crosby would consider a trade away from the Penguins, according to LeBrun.

"I mean, I'm answering something that … let's put it this way, it's always a possibility, you know?" Brisson answered, per LeBrun. "It's been three years they haven't made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do. I maintain the same position that I do believe that he should be playing playoff hockey every year. In my opinion."

Crosby signed a two-year extension that runs through the 2026-27 season with the Penguins last fall. It is not clear if the Penguins will be a playoff team again within that window.

Dubas has spent the summer signaling that the Penguins are eyeing a rebuild by stocking up on draft picks, and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman described the Penguins on his 32 Thoughts podcast this offseason as the only team in the NHL not trying to get better next season.

The Penguins' chances of being a postseason team in the immediate future will dip further if Dubas decides to move other core players who have been the subject of trade rumors this summer, including Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell.

Trading Karlsson, Rust or Rakell for draft capital would help the Penguins stock up for a full rebuild. Dubas may need to consider, however, whether Crosby is weighing immediate playoff contention when deciding if he will finish out his career in Pittsburgh.

Crosby, who leads all active NHL players with 1,687 career points, led the Penguins out of the Mario Lemieux era since he was selected with the top pick of the 2005 draft. He has played 20 seasons, including 18 as captain, and won three championships in Pittsburgh.