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?

Feb 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) prepares
Feb 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) prepares | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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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.