Even earlier than celebrity captain Sidney Crosby agreed to a two-year contract extension that might hold him hooked up to the Pittsburgh Penguins by way of a minimum of the 2026-27 NHL season, followers hoped the trio of Crosby, middle Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang may assist the membership go on one final magical run earlier than they retire.
As an alternative, The Penguins began the season at 6-9-3 and recently traded veteran middle Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for 2 future draft picks. With Pittsburgh wanting like one of many worst groups within the league, some understandably have puzzled if Crosby is having second ideas about retiring as a one-club man.
“The Penguins have let groups know that they’re open for enterprise,” NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared on Thursday. “In line with a few sources, their desire is younger NHL gamers, adopted by already-drafted prospects, adopted by picks. …If Sidney Crosby wished to go wherever else, he wouldn’t have prolonged with the Penguins. The one approach I may ever see it altering is that if actuality hit him tougher than he anticipated. I do not see that proper now.”
Whereas there may be, on paper, loads of time for the Penguins to develop into a crew able to hanging round by way of early subsequent yr relating to playoff conversations, there is no signal this squad has any such run in it. This previous Monday, Pittsburgh surrendered six first-period targets in a 7-1 dwelling loss to the Dallas Stars. As The Athletic’s Josh Yohe famous, Pittsburgh is previous and “not often aggressive towards contenders” this fall.
Nonetheless, Friedman stated Penguins president/normal supervisor Kyle Dubas would not need to commerce Malkin. Friedman added that he would not “consider [Malkin] desires to go wherever else” regardless of the membership’s woeful document.
“Letang has a no-move [clause] for 3 extra seasons,” Friedman continued. “Even when he wished a new tackle, it’s not going to be straightforward. …His historical past of injuries and ailments make buying and selling for the 37-year-old a chance. And, it’s troublesome to know precisely the way it all works, however NHL contracts might be uninsurable for pre-existing circumstances.”
In October 2023, Crosby, Malkin and Letang grew to become the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American skilled sports activities historical past. Breaking them up years in the past in all probability would’ve been the fitting transfer because it pertains to the Penguins’ long-term fortunes, however there’s something to be stated for them desirous to go down with a ship that may sink sooner somewhat than later.
