The Pittsburgh Penguins were attempting to give Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby one final shot at a Stanley Cup when they acquired Erik Karlsson this past summer. Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned and they've had an extremely tough time generating any momentum this season. With the trade deadline approaching and without their most valuable asset in Jake Guentzel until after the deadline, the Penguins' season is in disarray.
Letang and Karlsson are under contract for at least the next three seasons, while Malkin is under contract for the next two. Crosby, however, only has one season beyond this one left on his current deal. That means that the Penguins will either have to do a massive re-tool this off-season or begin a rebuild and begin moving or at least trying to move their four stars. On today's episode of the JD Bunkis podcast, Bunkis was joined by former Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma and asked him if the Penguins would consider moving Crosby and Bylsma's answer was surprising.
It is highly unlikely that Crosby, who holds a no-movement clause and already has 3 Stanley Cup rings, would consider leaving Pittsburgh and just as unlikely that the Pens consider moving him, but for Bylsma to say there is a possibility is shocking.
Crosby leaving Pittsburgh would be even more profound than Mats Sundin leaving Toronto for Vancouver, It just wouldn't feel right. Crosby brought the franchise back to life and it would only make sense if he was there to pass the torch to the next wave of talent.
The one team, however, that I could see as an option for Crosby if he did wish to pursue another Stanley Cup would be the Colorado Avalanche. Obviously, Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon are extremely close and if Crosby ever did decide to depart from Pittsburgh, I'd imagine that Colorado would be very high on his list.
