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Sidney Crosby

Will The Penguins Trade One Of Sidney Crosby’s Wingers?

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The Penguins have faced numerous challenges over the past few years – some regrettable trades and dwindling attendance. They’re on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, following a remarkable streak of 16 straight postseason appearances from 2007 to 2022. This year will mark only the fourth time in captain Sidney Crosby’s illustrious 20-year career that he missed the playoffs. While many media pundits speculate about his desire to join a contender, Crosby has consistently expressed his commitment to finishing his career with the Penguins and being part of their future success. The organization seems eager to accommodate him, which raises an important question: Would the Penguins trade one of Crosby’s favorite wingers for a second time in the last 18 months?

Trading Rickard Rakell has been a consideration for the Penguins; reports indicate they sought a substantial return at the NHL Trade Deadline but ultimately decided to keep the 31-year-old winger for the remainder of the season. However, not trading him this year doesn’t preclude a potential deal during the summer. Rakell has three years left on his contract with a reasonable $5MM cap hit, and his value may never be higher than it is now. The Penguins could capitalize on this opportunity and accelerate their retooling efforts, but at what cost? Crosby would lose a preferred winger again, and the Penguins lack players in their system who could effectively replace Rakell.

General manager Kyle Dubas has indicated that the franchise does not want to bottom out. They fear the emergence of a losing culture affecting their players, a concern supported by the 2010 Edmonton Oilers’ repeated struggle to escape the bottom of the NHL standings despite multiple top-five picks.

For their part, the Penguins have said they are comfortable keeping Rakell. While that won’t please the fans hoping for a tank next season, it could ultimately help the Penguins’ youth movement, who will get to study the game under the tutelage of Crosby and Rakell.

If the Pens opt to go a different direction, Rakell could be traded for a haul and possibly even lead to an impact prospect, which is missing from the Penguins’ retool and is on Dubas’ radar (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). The Penguins GM has done well building the prospect pipeline, but Pittsburgh doesn’t have anyone in their system who screams franchise cornerstone. The other factor when considering a Rakell move is that he wasn’t good last season, tallying just 15 goals and 22 assists in 70 games. Should he fall back to that production level, his $5MM AAV looks less appealing, which would hurt his trade value and the Penguins’ potential return.

The other Crosby winger that the Penguins could consider moving is Bryan Rust. The 32-year-old has hovered around the point-per-game mark since 2019 and has three more years on his deal at a very economical $5.13MM per season. The Pontiac, Michigan native is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins and remains one of the last holdovers from the 2016 and 2017 teams that won back-to-back championships. Rust remains a heart and soul player for Pittsburgh, and like Rakell, his value might never be higher. Rust would likely be a more challenging trade for Pens fans to swallow, given that he was drafted and developed by the team and is viewed by many as a man who should be wearing a letter in Pittsburgh.

On the flip side, Rust would also bring a strong return to Pittsburgh and could help move the Penguins’ retool along. It’s not unreasonable to think they would get a first-round pick and a prospect or two for Rust, which makes holding onto him even more complicated, even though the Penguins are keeping their superstar captain happy in doing so.

The Penguins owe a lot to Crosby; some might say he saved the franchise in 2005. Some might also say Crosby is loyal to a fault, and given the evidence, it’s easy to see why. The 37-year-old has never taken market value on a contract, playing under an $8.7MM cap hit since the 2008-09 season, and has almost always kept himself out of team business except for the Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang contract negotiations in the summer of 2022. Crosby also watched his preferred winger, Jake Guentzel, get traded away last March without a complaint. He’s perhaps the most loyal athlete in professional sports history.

But, as mentioned earlier, the talk leading into the NHL Trade Deadline was once again about trading one of Crosby’s preferred wingers, Rakell. Rust has also been mentioned in trade rumors, and given that his entire no-move clause ends this summer, he could be a name that is moved. But what kind of a message would it send to the superstar center who has given his all to the Penguins?

Many hockey pundits have speculated on whether or not Crosby will finish his career in Pittsburgh. Still, Crosby has done everything he can to dispel those rumors, including signing a two-year extension last September. It is easy to question Crosby’s decision, given the direction of the Penguins during the previous three seasons and the roster’s current state. However, looking at what Dubas has done in the last 12 months, it’s not impossible to imagine the team returning to relevance before the end of Crosby’s aforementioned two-year extension that is set to start next season. With all of that being said, Pittsburgh is still in a retool that they refuse to call a rebuild, and Crosby still very much wants to win, which has made it difficult to embrace a rebuild fully and has put Dubas in a position where he can’t fully commit to a youth movement. Penguins’ ownership and management appear committed to the retooling strategy, and Crosby is also on board based on how he spoke to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Regardless of who Dubas moves out, this offseason will be a franchise-defining one. They could push in and make aggressive moves over the next 12 months to try and get Crosby and the Penguins back into the playoff picture in what could be teammate Evgeni Malkin’s last season in the NHL.

The team could also continue gradually adding to their pipeline and draft picks. Either way, the Penguins are at a strange fork in the road as they try to navigate the past, the present, and the future of an organization that has had megastars and championships on the regular since the beginning of the 1990s.

Dubas must decide whether to retool around Sidney Crosby, which likely means keeping Rakell and Rust for one last run or leaning into a deeper rebuild that could see one or both of them sent away via trade. Whatever the case, it’s safe to assume spring and summer will bring a lot of trade winds for the Penguins, as they also have star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will likely be traded.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Penguins And Predators To Face-Off In 2025 Global Series

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will return to Stockholm next season to face-off against the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Global Series in Sweden, per an NHL announcement.

The games are slated for Nov. 14 and Nov. 16 and will be played at Avicii Arena. The Penguins are returning to Sweden after taking part in the 2008 NHL Premiere Series. It will represent the second time leaders Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang will take part in games overseas.

The series will represent a homecoming for players on both sides. For the Penguins, Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, as well as 30-goal winger Rickard Rakell will participate (barring injury of course), while the Peds will be represented by forward Filip Forsberg and defenders Adam Wilsby and Andreas Englund.

The NHL Global Series, started in 2017 in games between the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche in Stockholm, continues a long history of international competition for NHLers. This includes the 1938 European Tour between Red Wings and Canadians (a seven-game series that the Canadians won 4-3), the 1979–80 Super Series between Russian teams and NHL squads, and most recently the NHL Premiere Series, which ran from 2007 to 2011.

Rakell and Karlsson both expressed their excitement in playing in the series. Karlsson said the series will be a “great experience” and noted how fun it will be to play before family and friends in his home country. There is speculation surrounding Karlsson’s long-term future in Pittsburgh, so it’s not exactly a certainty he’ll be a Penguin next November.

Swedish-born Predators also expressed their excitement surrounding the series, including Forsberg who noted, “It’s obviously going to be a great time, a great opportunity for me.”

While it’s the first time Nashville will play in Sweden, it’s the organization’s third international trip. They played the Sharks in the 2022 Global Series in Prague, as well as a series against Pittsburgh at the GAME One Japan series in 2000.

In the 2008 Global Series, the Penguins split two games with the Senators. In those games, Crosby registered two assists, Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Letang registered nearly 50 minutes of total ice time between the two contests.

Injury Notes: Hughes, Pettersson, Anderson, Crosby

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The Vancouver Canucks could be a few star players short in their first game back out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Head coach Rick Tocchett (shared via Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre) confirmed that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be available against the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow due to injuries.

No report specified what type of injury Pettersson is dealing with but he’s only expected to miss a day or two. Meanwhile, Hughes’ oblique injury precluded him from participating in the international hockey tournament although he did attempt to return for the championship bout between Canada and the United States.

Vancouver entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break on the heels of a 6-1-1 record. Pettersson and Hughes could miss the second half of the back-to-back against the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday but the club could become increasingly uneasy should their absences extend further.

Other injury notes:

  • According to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, the Los Angeles Kings are expected to welcome back defenseman Michael Anderson against the Utah Hockey Club tomorrow night. The six-year pro missed the last four games before the 4 Nations Face-Off because of a finger injury. Los Angeles still needs to activate Anderson from the injured reserve but his return will give the Kings a healthy lineup to start the final stretch of the regular season.
  • Despite playing in all four of Canada’s games for the 4 Nations Face-Off, captain Sidney Crosby may not be ready to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported earlier that Crosby will be a game-time decision for tomorrow afternoon’s action against the Washington Capitals. Yohe didn’t specify whether Crosby is dealing with a minor injury or needs another day of rest from the hotly-contested event. The future Hall of Famer finished his sixth championship-winning international event with one goal and four assists.

Sidney Crosby, Mikko Rantanen Healthy For 4 Nations Face-Off

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Team Canada is celebrating after just one practice for the 4 Nations Face-Off, following news that international superstar Sidney Crosby will be good to go when Canada kicks off the tournament on Thursday, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. This news comes after Crosby missed the Pittsburgh Penguins’ last two games with an upper-body injury. He practiced in full at Canada’s Monday skate, serving on the team’s second line and filling the net-front role on the top power-play unit. Crosby also serves as Canada’s captain, as he has at the country’s last three international events with NHL talent.

Team Canada will be at relatively full strength with news of Crosby’s health. The team has no shortage of superstar talent – boasting Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar, arguably the three top players in the NHL. But the Canadian crest doesn’t shine the same without Crosby being part of the group. His international highlights are enough to satisfy an entire career. Crosby famously scored Canada’s “Golden Goal” at the 2010 Winter Olympics to pull the country ahead of Team USA in the Gold Medal game. He had seven points in seven games in that tournament and added three more in six games of the 2014 Olympics, where Canada repeated their Gold Medal win with a team led in scoring by Shea Weber and Drew Doughty. Crosby has only appeared in two international events since that second gold, netting 11 points in nine games of the 2014 World Championship and scoring 10 points in six games of the 2016 World Cup. His presence and international track record will make Canada the country to beat early in this year’s tournament.

The shorthanded Team Finland has received similarly bright news, with Finnish coach Antti Pennanen sharing that Mikko Rantanen will join the team for their first game against Team USA per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. That’s a key bit of news with defensemen Miro Heiskanen, Jani Hakanpää, and Rasmus Ristolainen ruled out for the event due to injuries, leaving them with names like Nikolas Matinpalo and Urho Vaakanainen on their blue line.

Rantanen has represented Finland at every step of his pro hockey career. He appeared in two World Juniors with Finland in 2015 and 2016, totaling nine points in 12 games and captaining the team in the latter tournament. Rantanen also represented Finland at the 2016 World Championship, marking the first of four appearances at the international tourney. He’s totaled 31 points in 31 World Championship games and stands as potentially Finland’s biggest scoring threat at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Rantanen’s role in the lineup isn’t yet clear, but he will likely support the team’s top line and top power-play unit next to Aleksander Barkov and one of Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund, or Artturi Lehkonen.

Snapshots: Greenway, Crosby, Eriksson Ek, Demko

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Discussions about a possible contract extension have not started between the Sabres and pending UFA winger Jordan Greenway, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  The trade deadline is now less than a month away but it doesn’t appear discussions about a possible new deal will begin until much closer to that time though there is believed to be mutual interest in getting an agreement in place.  Greenway is expected to return from his mid-body injury after the break, an injury that will have kept him out for more than two months.  The 27-year-old has three goals and four assists in 20 games this season and will likely be heading for a small raise on his current $3MM price tag on his next contract.

More from around the NHL:

  • Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman that center Sidney Crosby skated again today as he works his way back from an upper-body injury. He added that the captain felt significantly better today which suggests he shouldn’t be out much longer.  Now, the focus turns to the 4 Nations Face-Off where Crosby is set to be Canada’s captain.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relays (Twitter link) that it will ultimately be Crosby’s decision on whether he participates or withdraws due to the injury.  Final rosters have to be submitted on Monday so a decision will need to be made quickly on that front.
  • The Wild announced (Twitter link) that center Joel Eriksson Ek was scratched from tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury. It has been a tough year on the injury front for the veteran who has already missed 14 games due to a pair of lower-body issues and a broken nose.  In between those, he has scuffled a bit offensively, notching just nine goals and 14 assists in 41 games after putting up his second straight year of more than 60 points last season.  He’s slated to play for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off; The Athletic’s Michael Russo notes (Twitter link) that it’s uncertain if the injury will keep Eriksson Ek from playing in the event.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Thatcher Demko left tonight’s game versus Toronto early due to injury and did not return. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston adds that Demko was seen wincing after making some saves during the warm up.  The 29-year-old has been limited to just 19 games this season after missing the first two months while working his way back from an injured popliteus muscle in his left knee.

Sidney Crosby Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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Feb. 7: Crosby is day-to-day and won’t play against the Blueshirts, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including the team’s Josh Getzoff. However, his availability for the 4 Nations Face-Off is still uncertain and would certainly be feasible given his short-term designation.

Feb. 6: Crosby skated before practice Thursday but was not a full participant, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. It’s still unclear if he’ll play in tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.

Feb. 5: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is still being evaluated for the upper-body injury he sustained in yesterday’s shootout loss to the Devils, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed to reporters Wednesday.

Crosby got shaken up midway through the third period of the contest when he was caught between New Jersey skaters Erik Haula and Luke Hughes shortly after disposing of the puck. He didn’t leave the game but wasn’t available to practice today, Sullivan said.

An absence of any length ends Pittsburgh’s increasingly slim playoff hopes, which dropped to 0.9% after the shootout loss. They’re 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and seven points back of a playoff spot but have played three more games than the eight-place Lightning. They’ve been buoyed by their offense amid below-average defense and bottom-five goaltending, and the 37-year-old Crosby leads the pack as their only point-per-game player with 58 in 55 appearances.

Crosby continues to serve as the team’s undoubted MVP, averaging north of 20 minutes per game and winning 56.1% of his draws. He may have a -15 actual rating, but his possession numbers rank among the team’s best at even strength with a 53.4 CF% and +2.6 expected rating. Cody Glass is the only Penguin to post better numbers in both stats.

He hasn’t missed a game due to injury since a concussion kept him out of Game 6 of their 2022 first-round series against the Rangers. The Pens are also without No. 2 mainstay Evgeni Malkin, leaving Glass and Kevin Hayes as their projected top-six centers against the Blueshirts on Friday if Crosby can’t go.

The three-time Stanley Cup winner was also recently named captain for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins next week. He’d leave a huge hole on the Canadian squad, whose captaincy would presumably be filled by Connor McDavid if he can’t participate in the tournament.

Metropolitan Notes: Tippett, Kuzmenko, Pelletier, Fabbro, Crosby

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Flyers winger Owen Tippett has been ruled out of Philadelphia’s final two games before the 4 Nations Face-Off, notes Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The 25-year-old suffered an upper-body injury last Wednesday against New Jersey and hasn’t played since.  After setting new career highs last season offensively with 28 goals and 25 assists, Tippett has been a bit quieter this season with 14 goals and 20 helpers through 52 games although his 30 points still put him third on the team in scoring.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Also from Spiegel’s column, the Flyers are hoping that newcomers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier will be available for Saturday’s contest versus Pittsburgh. The two were acquired from Calgary last Friday but are still in the process of securing a work visa.  Neither player is presently on their 23-man roster so once they get clearance to suit up, Philadelphia will need to open up two roster spots before they can be activated.  Moving Tippett to IR retroactively is one way they can free up one of the spots.
  • The Blue Jackets will look into signing defenseman Dante Fabbro to a contract extension, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column. The 26-year-old has fit in quite nicely since being claimed off waivers in November, putting up 13 points in 37 games with Columbus while logging over 21 minutes a night.  Fabbro will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and with how well he has played with the Blue Jackets, he could be in line for a small raise on his current $2.5MM price tag.
  • Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that more information about Sidney Crosby’s status should be known on Friday. He was injured on Tuesday versus New Jersey.  Crosby is over the point-per-game mark for the 20th straight season and is set to be Canada’s captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off if the injury doesn’t force him to withdraw from the tournament.

Penguins Looking To Add To Ownership Group

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins is looking to add to their ownership group. The Penguins are owned by the Fenway Sports Group, who also own the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball and Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League.

Some people might see the situation as FSG trying to cut ties, however, this type of maneuver is hardly uncommon in sports ownership and likely won’t mean much to the day-to-day operations of the team. FSG has been very hands-off with the Penguins, some fans might say to the detriment of the team, however, they are rarely seen at games or in the media when it comes to Penguins affairs.

FSG bought the Penguins from previous owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, paying a staggering $950MM back in 2021. Lemieux and Burkle remain in the ownership group in a minority fashion and have had little to do with the club since departing.

The Penguins have gone through turbulent years since being purchased by FSG, making the playoffs just once in three seasons, and suffering through some difficult seasons under Ron Hextall and Brian Burke. Pittsburgh saw their 14-year sellout streak come to an end in 2021, and this year attendance has slipped to a low not seen since Sidney Crosby joined the team in 2005.

On the ice this season, Pittsburgh has fallen to the bottom of the NHL standings and is very much in danger of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season. Despite this, FSG has remained committed to spending to the upper limit of the NHL salary cap and is heavily invested off the ice spending handsomely on managerial and scouting staff to rebuild the roster before the end of Crosby’s career.

Penguins Expected To Be Sellers At Trade Deadline

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic believes that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be sellers regardless of their position in the standings. Yohe wrote about the unusual position the Penguins find themselves in heading into the second half of the NHL season. Pittsburgh has fought its way back into the Wild Card conversation in the Eastern Conference, and despite being largely made up of veteran players, general manager Kyle Dubas has his eye on the future and intends to sell.

Yohe says that his league sources predict the Penguins will make multiple moves to jettison veterans and that “no one is safe” on Pittsburgh, except for the players holding full no-trade protection (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to name a few). Marcus Pettersson is certainly a name Pittsburgh will move on from given his contractual status, but one name that could also go is forward Rickard Rakell. The 31-year-old is having a nice bounce-back season with 22 goals in 45 games. However, Yohe pours cold water on that notion, saying that Pittsburgh is likely to hold onto him for this year unless they receive a big offer.

While all signs point to Pittsburgh packing it in for the season and missing the playoffs for a third straight year, Yohe believes that the Penguins may see the trading of veteran players as an opportunity to call up some of their prospects who are NHL-ready, most notably goaltender Joel Blomqvist who is arguably the best netminder in the Penguins entire organization and their best chance at steady goaltending. Tristan Jarry has struggled for well over a calendar year and doesn’t look like an NHL goaltender at the moment, and Alex Nedeljkovic has been wildly inconsistent this season after putting together a nice campaign a year ago.

While the Penguins would love to move on from some of their pricier veterans, they will be in tough to do so as Jarry has three years left on his contract after this season with an AAV of $5.375MM, and defenseman Ryan Graves has four years on his deal at $4.5MM. Those deals were two of the first contracts Dubas handed out in Pittsburgh, and they’ve aged like milk. In previous years, those types of contracts would have been untradeable, but with the cap rising next season, it’s not out of the question that the Penguins could move on from those players in the next six months.

Late Night Notes: Doughty, Wilsby, Crosby

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Top Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has taken one step closer to full health, returning to skating drills on Tuesday head coach Jim Hiller shared with NHL.com’s Zach Dooley. Doughty has missed the entire regular season after undergoing an ankle surgery in October. He was placed on long-term injured reserve on October 9th.

The Kings defense has been great in Doughty’s absence. Rookie Brandt Clarke leads the bunch in scoring with an impressive 21 points in 36 games – and is quickly followed by Vladislav Gavrikov, Jordan Spence, and Joel Edmundson in scoring double-digit points. The blue-line has been a major factor in the Kings’ 21-10-5 record, and getting back their franchise defender in Doughty could be the piece to really push them into company with the league’s top teams. The 35-year-old Doughty recorded 50 points in 82 games last season – his second consecutive year reaching the 50-point mark. His performance featured 15 goals, the most Doughty has scored since the 2009-10 season. While age has certainly slowed his game, he still seems poised to make a major impact in Los Angeles’ top-four once he’s back to full health.

Sticking to the Western Conference, Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby missed the team’s Tuesday game against Minnesota with an upper-body injury. He has been designated as day-to-day, per a team announcement. Wilsby has been a focal piece of Nashville’s blue-line, averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time each game and recording three points across 15 games. He’s 10 games shy of making this year his official rookie season in the NHL. Wilsby earned the promotion after climbing the ranks of the Milwaukee Admirals, totaling 44 points in 126 games with the club over the last three seasons – including five points in 13 games this year. Recent trade acquisition Justin Barron is filled in for Wilsby. It’s his third game with the Predators. Barron is still searching for his first point with the team.

Jumping out East, Sidney Crosby is continuing to stamp himself as the pinnacle Pittsburgh Penguin. He recorded his 1,034th assist on Sunday night, passing Mario Lemieux for the franchise’s all-time record and pushing Crosby to 12th on the NHL’s all-time assist leaderboards. Crosby sits 16 assists back from surpassing Gordie Howe and entering the top-10 of that list. He’s still 88 points shy of breaking Lemieux’s franchise record for all-time points. Crosby has two years on his contract after this season, which should be plenty of runway to set more Penguins scoring records, and continue challenging the tops of NHL record books.

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