Montreal Canadiens
Insider Reveals Whether the Canadiens Still Have Hope of Landing Sidney Crosby
Are the Montreal Canadiens still holding out hope of acquiring Sidney Crosby?
For much of the last three years, one of the most common questions around the hockey world has been whether Sidney Crosby would ask for a trade out of Pittsburgh to chase another Stanley Cup with a contender, as the Penguins were on the downswing entering the early stages of a rebuild.
No team was linked to Crosby in that speculation more than the Montreal Canadiens — and for good reason. They were his childhood team and are loaded with emerging young talent, which made the chatter grow especially loud this summer after Pittsburgh missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season. However, now that the Penguins have surprised many and sit second in the Metropolitan Division at the Olympic break, is there any chance the Habs can still find a way to bring Crosby to Montreal?
TSN insider Chris Johnston revealed in a recent article for The Athletic that those hopes can be put to rest — for now, at least.
“There was a time when Montreal might have held out hope Sidney Crosby would become available on the trade market, but that ship has now sailed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff spot,”
The 38-year-old Crosby remains one of the game’s best, having racked up 59 points (27 goals, 32 assists) through 56 games this season, and as we’ve recently seen, making a big impact for Team Canada at the Olympics. He’s in the first year of the two-year, $17.4 million extension signed to stay in Pittsburgh just prior to the start of the 2024 campaign.
His play and production have been, to no surprise, one of the driving forces behind the Penguins’ resurgence, and given that the team will almost certainly be in — or at least within striking distance of — a playoff spot by the deadline, the odds of the lifelong Penguin leaving town appear nonexistent.
Could this be a topic to revisit in 2026-27 if Pittsburgh falls back to reality? Absolutely. However, both Crosby and fellow superstar Evgeni Malkin have consistently reiterated their desire to spend their entire careers together in Pittsburgh. Given that they continue to perform at elite levels and carry the load as the team’s two best players, there’s little reason to believe GM Kyle Dubas won’t allow that to happen.
Next: Analyst Pinpoints What Makes Auston Matthews Different from Connor McDavid
Discover more from NHL Trade Talk
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
More News
