Sidney Crosby is the ultimate Pittsburgh Penguin! He may be the best Penguin of all-time and that’s saying a lot when Mario Lemieux has worn the same jersey.
Crosby has delivered 3 Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh in his tenure! However, times are more bleak now. The Penguins sit 7 points out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Even if the Penguins somehow manage to sneak into the playoffs, nobody sees them as a viable contender. This is where Crosby comes in. Sidney Crosby likely anticipates spending his entire career with Pittsburgh, but he actually can be more help to the franchise by allowing the Pens to trade him.
A Crosby trade has the ability to set the Penguins up for years in the future. Let’s be clear here – if Crosby is willing to be traded, he would have his pick of teams. In this mock scenario, let’s assume he decides to go play with friend and fellow Cole Harbour native Nathan Mackinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. Let’s look at the haul the Avalanche would have to give up to acquire Crosby.
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It starts with Bowen Byram. The Penguins will not move forward with a deal if Byram’s name is not included. That’s not all though! If I’m the Penguins, I’m also asking for Calum Ritchie. Ritchie has sky-rocketed up prospect rankings by having an outstanding season with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. These are two players the Penguins can immediately start a rebuild around, a promising young defenseman capable of 1st pairing minutes and a 19-year-old center who is now projecting as a top 6 forward. But wait there’s more! A deal from the Avalanche would also likely require 1st round picks in both 2024 and 2025.
That’s one heck of a return and a great jump start on a rebuild for the Pittsburgh Penguins! Reshaping the Penguins for years to come is one last gift Crosby can leave Penguins fans.
The Penguins have a lot of veteran players on their roster and if they trade Crosby, everybody else is fair game. Coming up – we will look at other players the Penguins may move to continue this mock rebuild.
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