People ask me this question quite often. While I don\u2019t want to put words in Sidney Crosby\u2019s mouth, I feel like I\u2019m qualified to answer this question.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all about loyalty for him. Before he signed his new two-year contract with the Penguins last September, I asked a member of the organization if anyone was concerned. The response this person sent me was this: \u201cNope, none at all. He\u2019s a Penguin.\u201d<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t really answer the question better than that. Of course, he isn\u2019t enjoying the losing. Of course, it\u2019s torture for him. And sure, I\u2019d bet he would prefer for Kyle Dubas to get a little aggressive and make this team better immediately. No one likes a rebuild, and no one hates it more than a player toward the end of his career.<\/p>\n
But still, he\u2019s a Penguin. He\u2019s a Pittsburgher. He\u2019s spent most of his life playing for the Penguins. Really. Twenty years out of the 37 in which he\u2019s walked this planet have been as a member of the Penguins. He\u2019s happy here.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard many say things like, \u201cHe deserves to be in the playoffs! He\u2019s Sidney Crosby!\u201d<\/p>\n
No, he doesn\u2019t. Nobody deserves to be in the playoffs. I don\u2019t even know what that means. But you know what he does deserve? Given the player he\u2019s always been \u2014 and more importantly, the wonderful person he\u2019s always been \u2014 Crosby deserves to live his life on his terms. And he wants to live his life being the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n
Do you think the Pens somehow making the playoffs this season would be a worst-case scenario for POHOGMKD? \u2014 <\/strong>@thejoshbanks<\/strong><\/p>\n Are we now calling Dubas this? President of hockey operations\/general manager Kyle Dubas is now POHOGMKD? I have to think about this.<\/p>\n As for your question, well, it\u2019s a good one.<\/p>\n On one level, it would be a glorious story, right? Evgeni Malkin playing in the playoffs in what is potentially his final season? Crosby carrying the Penguins back to the playoffs? You can smell the Hart Trophy votes already. It would be something to see, and when you look at the collection of forwards the Penguins have at their disposal, you could almost imagine such a scenario. Almost.<\/p>\n In terms of what Dubas is trying to build, yes, it probably would be a bad thing. This draft is the granddaddy of them all, from what we are told. To get a top-five pick in this draft could certainly change the future for the Penguins.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very complex thing, what Penguins fans are rooting for in the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n How much pressure is on Dubas to win the Rakell and Rust trades and get something decent for EK65? \u2014 @<\/strong>Jeffs_Penguins<\/strong><\/p>\n If he\u2019s made up his mind that he\u2019s going to trade either Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell \u2014 or maybe both \u2014 then, yeah, there\u2019s a ton of pressure on him. Remember, he doesn\u2019t have that many movable assets.<\/p>\n Those are the kinds of deals you can\u2019t screw up, especially if Rust is dealt. Remember the Jake Guentzel trade? It didn\u2019t go over very well in the locker room. Moving Rust won\u2019t either. So if you\u2019re going to make waves, at least hit a home run.<\/p>\n Trading Jake Guentzel in 2024 didn\u2019t have the best reception in the Penguins locker room, and if Kyle Dubas isn\u2019t careful, a Bryan Rust trade could have a similar effect. (Gregory Shamus \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n If the Pens can get a first-round pick for Rust\/Rakell, wouldn\u2019t it be better to trade them now and hope their new teams end up in the lottery instead of trading them to a surefire playoff team at the deadline? The more chances at Gavin McKenna, the better. \u2014 @<\/strong>klinger2069<\/strong><\/p>\n I see your point, and you\u2019re right. But there is a problem. Teams aren\u2019t very willing to make their first-round picks available right now because they also know how good the 2026 draft is.<\/p>\n Do I think the Penguins could get a first-round pick for Rust or Rakell if they trade them before the deadline? Maybe. But teams that aren\u2019t sure if they\u2019re going to be good next year aren\u2019t likely to cough up that pick right now.<\/p>\n I understand the folks who want to trade Rust and Rakell, as their return would be the best we could get for any of our trade pieces. Wouldn\u2019t trading them push the rebuild out further? They are on very attractive deals and we still need quality NHL players. \u2014 <\/strong>@6_Lombardis<\/strong><\/p>\n Fair question. I think it all depends on the return. If you\u2019re getting nothing but draft picks or 18-year-old prospects? Then yeah, you might be correct.<\/p>\n But if you\u2019re getting a 22-year-old who is NHL-ready? Maybe not so much. It\u2019s about the return, and it\u2019s difficult to project what both players would bring back.<\/p>\n Is it actually possible to move all of Danton Heinen, Noel Acciari and Kevin Hayes out to unclog the bottom-six logjam? \u2014 <\/strong>@Flux_cc<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think so, no. Maybe one of them? None are on particularly attractive contracts, and I\u2019m not sure how much any of them bring to the table.<\/p>\n Dubas, from what I can gather, isn\u2019t offended by having bad contracts on his team simply because they aren\u2019t ready to win just yet. When he deems that they are, that will be a different story.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve been covering the team for a long time. Are you equally excited (in a different way) to see the next chapter unfold? \u2014 <\/strong>@LittleMac0816<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course. The Penguins, in all seriousness, are one of the most fascinating organizations in sports history. I truly believe that. It\u2019s been good, bad, tragic and so much more. There have been multiple bankruptcies. Coaches dying in-season. General managers dying in car wrecks. Mumps outbreaks. \u00a0Players coming back from cancer to dominate the sport. Remarkable highs (no team exceeds the Penguins\u2019 five Cups in the past 40 years). Remarkable lows (when they stink, they stink in indescribable ways). Mario Lemieux. Sidney Crosby. Jaromir Jagr. Evgeni Malkin.<\/p>\n I have never been bored one time while writing about this team. The Penguins are a soap opera come to life. They always have been, and I don\u2019t figure that will ever change. They are a reporter\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n When Penguins media report injuries as simply upper- or lower-body, do they never know what the specific injury is? Or are they just afraid of blowback from the players, GM, coach, Jen Bullano, other media or their employers? \u2014 <\/strong>@know_tru<\/strong><\/p>\n Great question. I have a theory that, in general, it\u2019s not my business what the injury is and it\u2019s not really the fans\u2019 business, either. It\u2019s someone\u2019s health, right? If they can\u2019t play, they can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n So I don\u2019t really go digging for it. If it\u2019s painfully obvious what the injury is \u2014 shoulder takes brunt of hit, guy grabs shoulder, leaves game, team calls it an upper-body injury \u2014 I\u2019ll say it\u2019s a shoulder injury, because we aren\u2019t children here. But if it\u2019s a mystery injury, I don\u2019t really think it\u2019s my place to investigate. Sure, sometimes I see things. I saw Sid go into a doctor\u2019s office in Washington last year to have his wrist looked at. I didn\u2019t write it. He was with a doctor and I was in his space, you know? Just an ethical thing more than anything.<\/p>\n How does the social media staff chose who is in videos? Is it pretty optional for the players? Do they have any obligations as employees of the team? Does the media staff bribe them with cookies? \u2014 <\/strong>@Grady_Matthew<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a better question for them, but I\u2019d imagine the players who are more friendly with the media are the ones more likely to do those kinds of things.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s go ask Ned for another video, because it\u2019s Ned and he\u2019s the nicest guy ever, so he won\u2019t get irritated. I think that\u2019s the mindset.<\/p>\n Geeking out over Sidney Crosby.<\/p>\n Penguins draft picks\u2026 they’re just like us \ud83e\udd23 pic.twitter.com\/40XtLQKCtC<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1903091063-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n