{"id":213401,"date":"2025-09-09T17:47:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T17:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213401\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T17:47:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T17:47:11","slug":"sidney-crosby-on-penguins-future-canadiens-speculation-more-thats-the-hard-part-about-losing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213401\/","title":{"rendered":"Sidney Crosby on Penguins future, Canadiens speculation, more: \u2018That\u2019s the hard part about losing\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS \u2014 It was opening night of the 4 Nations Faceoff last February, and chants of \u201cCrosby, Crosby\u201d were reverberating throughout a rocking Bell Centre during a 4-3 overtime win over Sweden for Team Canada.<\/p>\n

The love-in for Sidney Crosby was unforgettable.<\/p>\n

Perhaps caught in the emotion in the moment, No. 87 let his guard down just a tad after the game when asked about being showered with love from the Montreal faithful.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone who loves to play in environments like that \u2014 I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan \u2014 to have an ovation like that here was really special and something I\u2019ll always remember,\u201d Crosby said on that February night.<\/p>\n

I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan.<\/p>\n

In the context of the growing outside noise and speculation regarding his future with the Pittsburgh Penguins, I asked Crosby on Monday evening at the NHL Player Media Tour about that night in Montreal and whether there was any chance he was dropping any bread crumbs with that comment about growing up a Habs fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said that a few times,\u201d Crosby replied with a smile. But, no, he was not leaving bread crumbs.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s aware, especially when he\u2019s back home in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, where there are plenty of Canadiens fans, that is what the Montreal market is dreaming of these days: getting their hands on No. 87, somehow, some day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get it,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cTrust me, growing up a Montreal fan and being from not too far from there, I understand how passionate they are. You know whether it\u2019s those experiences or guys that I\u2019ve played with that have played there, or playing there in the playoffs or 4 Nations \u2014 all these different things \u2014 I get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember \u2014 I think it was my first or second year in the league \u2014 and I was in Montreal for a CCM thing in like June. And they were already projecting the lines for training camp in September. I was like, \u2018This is wild. I\u2019ve never heard anything like this. They\u2019re so into it.\u2019 And I get it why that would come up and that sort of thing (speculation). It doesn\u2019t make it any easier when you\u2019re losing to hear those things. But at the same time, to know that a team like that wants you, it\u2019s not the end of the world. It could be worse (he smiled). Yeah, I think that\u2019s just part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sidney Crosby appreciated a huge ovation at the Bell Centre before the 4 Nations Face-Off. (Minas Panagiotakis \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

I think when he said, \u201cto know that a team like that wants you,\u201d he meant the Habs fan base, but either way, he\u2019s not wrong, because the current Canadiens front office absolutely would move heaven and earth to trade for Crosby if he and the Penguins ever indicated that was actually a possibility.<\/p>\n

It may never be. Crosby may continue to see the most value in being a Penguin for life. That\u2019s the likeliest outcome. But \u2026 as each losing season piles up in Pittsburgh, the possibility of him moving on does become more realistic \u2014 even if still a long shot.<\/p>\n

Which is why speculation is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s a reality,\u201d his longtime agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports, told The Athletic on Monday night regarding the buzz generated by Pittsburgh\u2019s lack of success. \u201cFirst of all, he\u2019s been so consistent for 20 years. He had another great year last season. He just keeps going. The comparison is Tom Brady. We want Sidney to hopefully be in the playoffs every year. We want him to hopefully win another Cup or two. So each year the team that he\u2019s playing for fails to make the playoffs, it creates a lot of speculation. In reality, he\u2019s not getting any younger. We\u2019re here to support him. It\u2019s the beginning of the season here. Let\u2019s see how things are going. Hopefully they have a great season and the speculation will go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut at the same time, the reason we all talk about this is because he\u2019s such a great player still,\u201d added Brisson, who was hanging out with Crosby during his Player Media Tour stop Monday. \u201cHe continues to be such a difference maker. Like a Tom Brady, that\u2019s how I look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And well, Tom Brady did leave the New England Patriots to go win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

So again, I asked Brisson, is it possible Crosby will entertain a trade out of Pittsburgh one day?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019m answering something that \u2026 let\u2019s put it this way, it\u2019s always a possibility, you know?\u201d Brisson said. \u201cIt\u2019s been three years they haven\u2019t made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do. I maintain the same position that I do believe that he should be playing playoff hockey every year. In my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, let me stress this: Crosby for sure only sees himself as a Penguin for life. The question we are raising here, and his agent himself is speaking to \u2014 could that potentially change with another losing season?<\/p>\n

Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff asked Crosby during the Player Media Tour availability Monday night about his future with the Penguins in the context of the losing seasons the past few years and how difficult it is to deal with the speculation because of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I understand it,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something you want to discuss. You\u2019d rather be talking about who we\u2019re getting at the (trade) deadline or, you know, where we\u2019re at as far as, are we one or two or three in the division? But you know, it\u2019s one of those things. That\u2019s the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that the buzzer goes and you lose a game and that sucks, but there\u2019s so much more than that. It\u2019s the (roster) turnover. It\u2019s the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks \u2014 that\u2019s the stuff that\u2019s tough. It makes you appreciate all those years that we were competing and going after the big acquisition every single trade deadline. I don\u2019t think I took it for granted, but I definitely appreciate it that much more now.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it doesn\u2019t change my approach. I still go out there trying to win every single game and try to be the best that I can be. I think that youth and having that energy around you isn\u2019t a bad thing, either. We\u2019ve got a lot of hungry guys, a lot of competition for spots. So I think you just try to find different things you can feed off of and still continue to learn through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I reached out to Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas on the matter. Apprised of Crosby\u2019s sensible comments, he replied:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Sidney says during his availability, our focus right now is on our younger players coming into camp with high hopes and the battles for roster spots that we have ahead of us. We have no control over speculation or the desires of other teams, markets or members of the media. Our focus is on returning the Pittsburgh Penguins to perennial contender status as urgently as possible. Taking away our focus from that task would only slow down from a job that requires our full attention and nothing less.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, the reality is that this isn\u2019t a Dubas decision if it ever comes to pass. It will be Crosby and Brisson at the wheel. And it\u2019s not just Montreal. There\u2019s Crosby\u2019s good pal Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado, who no doubt would love to have No. 87 with him in Denver. I would imagine Brisson has gotten a fair number of nudge, nudge, wink, wink whispers from NHL teams this summer, wondering about Crosby\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n

His intentions are clear right now on the eve of his 21st NHL season: get the Penguins back to respectability and in the playoff mix.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s won three Stanley Cups and two Olympic gold medals, and he\u2019s going for more Olympic glory next February in Milan.<\/p>\n

He also turned 38 this summer. He\u2019s done it all. What still drives him?<\/p>\n

Josh Clipperton of the Canadian Press asked Crosby that question as his media availability wrapped up Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still love it,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cStill able to compete in a game that\u2019s getting faster and faster. I love an opportunity like 4 Nations to play for Canada \u2014 an opportunity to be part of the Olympic team, to see these guys up close and get to know them, just see what makes them as good as they are and get to know them on a personal basis. That\u2019s a lot of fun, and that\u2019s something we probably missed out on the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll those things combined (drive me), but ultimately I love the game still, and I want to compete for as long as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo: Steph Chambers \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 It was opening night of the 4 Nations Faceoff last February, and chants of \u201cCrosby,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":213402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[3104,293,3777,1334,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-213401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-montreal-canadiens","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-olympics","11":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115175597283005745","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}