Top 5 teams that would be epic landing spots for Sidney Crosby if he leaves the Penguins
Sidney Crosby has been with the Penguins for the greater part of two decades, but is there a strong possibility that he leaves Pittsburgh in the near future?
While it seems highly unlikely at this point that Sidney Crosby will play anywhere else, the possibility is more than open, considering his cost-effective value and the possibility of the Pittsburgh Penguins missing the playoffs for the second straight season, which hasn’t occurred since 2002-03 and 2003-04. A legendary player like Crosby would want to end his career on a high note, but unless the Penguins do something drastic, perhaps he won’t be in Pittsburgh much longer.
If the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes do open, expect a strong contingent of the NHL’s 32 teams to call general manager Kyle Dubas and inquire about what the price tag will be. Crosby’s contract will expire next season, but since it is far more reasonable in its final years with a salary of just $3 million, quite a few teams could afford to make room for the future Hall of Fame forward.
While many teams can land Crosby via trade, whether something like this were to happen in the 2024 offseason or at some point during the 2024-25 season, there are five who would be not just ideal, but some of the most entertaining landing spots in hockey.
Sure, he could always join a serious contender for 2024-25, or he could land somewhere more under-the-radar, sign a reasonable extension, and help a team either overachieve or even snag its first Cup in a while, or ever. The following teams listed feature some serious contenders, but also rebuilding organizations with enticing cores that would have a leader in the longtime Penguin.
So which teams would figure to be excellent fits for Sidney Crosby if he ends up going elsewhere this offseason, at some point before the trade deadline in 2025, or following the 2024-25 season assuming he’s not a surprise add-on to the 2024 deadline? Here are five ideal landing spots for Number 87.
Crosby mentoring Connor Bedard and a young core in Chicago would be epic
While the Chicago Blackhawks have a plan in place to build a team with its young core, starting with Connor Bedard, imagine a three-time Stanley Cup Champion landing in the Windy City and showing this young team how to win. If Crosby indeed leaves Pittsburgh via trade, the Blackhawks have enough space to keep brewing their young core while simultaneously welcoming the future Hall of Famer.
Of course, this would be a feel-good story with Hollywood tropes, as Crosby’s presence in Bedard’s second (or third, if Crosby leaves via free agency in 2025) season with the team would consist of one of the league’s older faces teaming up with its newer faces, plus youngsters who will make leaps and bounds in their respective development.
When you currently think of the Blackhawks, you often think of a team whose best days will arrive a few seasons down the road. Crosby’s presence would speed up that process, regardless of whether it ends with the team winning a Stanley Cup for the first time since the Patrick Kane era.
Even if such a situation occurred where Crosby left, the Blackhawks landed him, and they didn’t win a Cup with the aging veteran on the team, they would give him plenty of credit if Bedard and company won it all shortly after Crosby’s time with the team.
Crosby’s presence on the Sabres would end the NHL’s longest playoff drought
Last season, the Buffalo Sabres looked like they were about to end what eventually became a 12-year playoff drought. Now, Year 13 of that drought is drawing nearer, and sooner than later, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams must do something to maintain what’s left of the fans’ interest and bring hordes of it back.
Adams’ conservative approach, however, means the Sabres have a good deal of cap space to work with to more than cover Crosby’s contract. And that would be the case whether the Penguins would look to deal Crosby in the offseason, next season, or if he leaves should they not reach a new agreement.
Wouldn’t it be great to see Adams pull off a blockbuster move that involved bringing arguably the NHL’s best player of the 21st century to the City of Good Neighbors? Yeah, it’s one of the league’s smallest markets, and Sabres hockey has been miserable for years, but that would make Crosby’s presence in Western New York such a great story.
We already know this Sabres team can contend as they showed it last year, and if they figure out how to win consistently and add a player of Crosby’s caliber, interest in hockey will quickly return to a place it has been dormant for over a decade. Crosby wouldn’t just be the missing piece in finally making the Sabres relevant, his lasting impact would likely keep them relevant.
Crosby landing in Detroit would be Steve Yzerman’s biggest blockbuster move
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman’s eyes are probably lighting up at the possibility of bringing Sidney Crosby to the Motor City in the near future. Sure, Jake Guentzel would be great for the Red Wings, but landing Sidney Crosby, a player who once beat Detroit to win the Stanley Cup in 2009, would be nothing short of epic.
Detroit is already one of the NHL’s better teams, especially on offense. But a complete player like Crosby would add another legitimate scoring threat offensively while helping the team become more competent without the puck.
Should Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas start fielding calls for Crosby following the 2023-24 season or during the 2024-25 season, expect Yzerman to be among the first to make an inquiry. And not just that: Imagine a situation where the Red Wings hold onto Patrick Kane, bring Crosby to town, and win their first Stanley Cup since 2008 with a pair of legends from the 2000s and 2010s.
We have covered a pair of feel-good scenarios with Crosby leading a young Blackhawks team and lifting the Sabres out of the NHL’s longest playoff drought. But for him to join one of the league's most storied franchises while teaming up with another future Hall of Famer in the process? Yeah, that would be more than an enticing story and the Red Wings would be a lot of fun to follow.
Crosby could help a team Predators team he once beat win their first Cup
The 2016-17 season was a magical one for the Nashville Predators, as they won their first Western Conference Championship. Unfortunately for Nashville, Sidney Crosby led a strong Pittsburgh Penguins team back to the Stanley Cup Final, and predictably, the Pens won it all.
However, the Predators are a decent team with enough cap space to bring in a player like Crosby and let him factor in as the missing piece for this team to do more than just return to the postseason. If Crosby joined the Predators, fans would quickly forget about the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, and the future Hall of Famer would be a hero if he made his way to Nashville and won a Cup in the process.
Sure, the Western Conference is currently the home to some powerful teams, including perennial contenders like the Vegas Golden Knights and upstarts like the Vancouver Canucks. But Crosby’s presence for a bubble team like the Predators would parlay them into one of the West’s top contending groups seeking its second appearance in the Final.
This would also ease recent pain in Nashville following that loss in the Final since they haven’t made a deep playoff run in the following seasons.
Imagine a Sidney Crosby-Connor McDavid tag team in Edmonton
In 2005, Sidney Crosby was the generational talent who ended up in Pittsburgh and 10 years later, a generational talent named Connor McDavid landed in Edmonton.
It’s safe to say fans were getting flashbacks to the Wayne Gretzky era when McDavid came to town in 2015. But McDavid’s presence has not garnered the Oilers its first Western Conference Championship since the 2005-06 season. And while McDavid and company could wind up ending that drought this year, there are no guarantees it will occur given how streaky Edmonton’s season has been.
That said, if teams start inquiring about Crosby’s availability, the Oilers must be in on them and make a serious push to land the former first-overall pick, whether that occurs this offseason or next season. It’s clear that the Oilers only need another piece or two to hoist their first Stanley Cup since 1990, and it would be nothing short of incredible to see an aging NHL legend win one more alongside arguably the league’s best current player in McDavid.
It would likely mark the end of an era for one career, while perhaps the beginning of something the Oilers haven’t seen since the 1980s for several others. As with the other four teams on this list, it would mean Crosby’s presence, however short it may be, would have a lasting impact with the team.
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(Data provided by Hockey-Reference)