Future "What if...?": Crosby's Final Years

[Empoleon8771]

Love these main boards shit fights. 90% of posters agree (on this thread: "he's probably not leaving Pittsburgh, but if he does, it's probably to Colorado") ... And then 10% of posters, haters and lovers of the topical player and then usually some Habs fans sprinkled in, get into wild back and forths that devolve into flaming.

We're only missing some Russians to bring up Ovie, or God forbid Michkov, and dial the chaos up another level.

It's even more bizarre in this case because the initial claim was so tame that it didn't even remotely deserve that level of response. The idea is equating Crosby helping McDavid win to what Gretzky did to help Lemieux while they played together in the Canada cup, which isn't a ridiculous claim and is in no way taking away from McDavid's legacy.

I'm not super well versed on it because it was before my time, but from the late 1980s Penguins games that I've seen on Youtube, the broadcasters mentioned more than once how Gretzky helped Lemieux grow into a leadership role and be more than just a points farmer on a bad team. I don't think McDavid needs that kind of help like Lemieux allegedly needed back then, but "veteran helping the talented younger guy develop into a winner" is something the NHL saw with two of its best players ever with Lemieux and Gretzky.

 

[Soundwave]

I think Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid (and Marner) are all together right now actually.

I knew McDavid was in Vail, Colorado, but I couldn't figure out why, most of the Oilers including Draisaitl are already back in Edmonton. I was thinking maybe an extended honeymoon thing as Vail is a popular destination town, but now that Freidman I think has said Crosby/MacK/Marner are in Vail, it makes sense that McDavid is there too, lol.

Team Canada prep most likely.

 

[The Panther]

Sign with Edmonton, Sid. Can you imagine this top nine?:

Hyman - McDavid - Draisaitl
Arvidsson - Crosby - Skinner
Kane - Henrique - Nugent-Hopkins

Keep the 4th-line on the bench and we good.

 

[Sexy Necksy Garland]

Sid to Vancouver, please. Rutherford has the juice to make something like that happen. He would be a godsend to the powerplay and oh yeah, top of the C depth chart on a team with Pettersson and J.T. Miller.

 

[Voight]

Maybe Crosby wants to "exercised his rights as an untestricted free agent" and come to Montréal

"Bu bu but it doesn't make sense!!1"

Maybe not to you, but to him yes?

Still has nothing to do with his legacy....

 

[KingsFan7824]

If you're still playing at a high level, why limit yourself based on age.

We're seeing in other sports the rise of top end athletes playing well into their mid/late 30s and even 40s. LeBron James is turning 40 this season. Steph Curry is only like 7 months younger than Crosby. Tom Brady was competing for Superbowls at age 40/41 also. A sport that used to be like "you turn 30 and you're finished" like tennis now has Djokovic at age 37 still being a top player.

Look there's a perfectly reasonable argument for staying put for Sid, but if it's a 100% slam dunk, I think he would've signed by now. What's the hold up? I don't think never playing in the playoffs again while he's still a high level player is something he'd be thrilled with.

I'm saying Crosby has no limit. He doesn't gain or lose anything no matter where, or if, he plays after this year. There's no goal record he's going to get. There's no points record to get. He's got the Cups, and two back to back. He's already a top 50, 20, 10, whatever player ever. There are no unanswered questions. Nothing he does from now on will change anything. He's free to do as he wants.

The only thing that would really be overly impressive is if he was the leader of this aging Pens team with no depth winning another Cup.

 

[Voodoo Child]

My hot take is he probably retires a Pen, but maybe he ends up going to Colorado, his first ballot has been stamped for a decade and he can do what he wants.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Still has nothing to do with his legacy....

Maybe for him, it does, even if you don't see it yourself

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I'm saying Crosby has no limit. He doesn't gain or lose anything no matter where, or if, he plays after this year. There's no goal record he's going to get. There's no points record to get. He's got the Cups, and two back to back. He's already a top 50, 20, 10, whatever player ever. There are no unanswered questions. Nothing he does from now on will change anything. He's free to do as he wants.

The only thing that would really be overly impressive is if he was the leader of this aging Pens team with no depth winning another Cup.

How I feel as well. His place in history is set, it doesn't really matter in that sense if he wins 3 or 4 cups. It's about what he wants to do for his final years. He's earned that, so I'm ok if he wants to stay in pittsburgh, and ok if he wants to go and try for more cups.

 

[Pip]

if he went to Montreal next year, what makes you think it wouldn't be for a cup.

Slaf - Suzuki - Caufield
Laine - Crosby - Demidov
Newhook - Dach - Roy
Anderson - Kapanen/Beck - Gally

feel free to try and flame that lineup....but that would be at or near the top of the league.

Because the goal would be to go to a team already at the top and adding Crosby would put them over the top, not a team that needs him to be considered near the top of the league

 

[alko]

Will play in Russia with Ovie for a 20 mil / season.

 

[Crow]

Anybody who thinks he'd go anywhere but Colorado is just being silly.


Anybody that thinks he'd even leave Pittsburgh in the first place are being like 99% silly.

Only hesitation I have in saying that is it is not the same group or family who drafted him that now owns anything close to a majority of the pens. Maybe he doesn’t feel much loyalty toward the new group.

 

[cowboy82nd]

Because of legacy, or because he has achieves litteraly everything he could and the last box to check is to wear the most prestigious hockey jersey by far in the sport?

But you didn't say Toronto?

 

[Bouboumaster]

But you didn't say Toronto?

No I didn't, nobody would mention both "Toronto" and "prestigious" together in the same sentence without looking like a goddamn clown

 

[SEALBound]

Not resigning this year leaves open the possibility of heading out at the TDL to a cup contender. Then resigns in Pittsburgh for the remainder of the year.

I think that's Colorado pretty easily. That said, I gotta think that if Sid is willing to go to another team, he might just drag that team across the finish line come hell or high water. I don't think he's going to taint the "one team" aspect of his legacy for a maybe. So a team is really going to have to go for it. Doubt Sid will do it if his linemates are 3rd line caliber guys.

 

[Toby91ca]

I don't see him going anywhere else, but who knows. This isn't a Ray Bourque scenario....he already has the cups. The only two big items I'd think of are 1) perhaps he is simply dead set against playing out his career on a team that isn't going anywhere....you can't imagine that team improving over the next 3-4 years or 2) perhaps he wants to help the team before he leaves....a trade would bring in big pieces to rebuild vs. nothing if he plays out to retirement....you don't really see that happen much though.

 

[GOilers88]

I hope he stays in Pittsburgh. He has no reason to chase a cup.

He's won everything the sport can offer. He's made more money than he could spend in a lifetime. Nothing could better cement his career than by spending the entirety of it with one team.

 

[varsaku]

50% Colorado
50% Montréal

IMO

No other teams would be considered

Colorado because of Mack and the chance to get one more Cup

Montréal because it was his team growing up, it's the "local team" for him and he played his junior in Québec
Plus, Montréal is a young team on verge to finish their rebuild

We may be nearing the end of the rebuild but we are no where close to contending for the Cup. If he is leaving Pittsburgh it is for another cup otherwise he will be retiring there.
We unfortunately still lack that star player to really push the team to the next level that every cup winning team has.

 

[Voight]

Maybe for him, it does, even if you don't see it yourself

In terms of how the hockey world looks at his legacy, zero impact.

 

[Bouboumaster]

In terms of how the hockey world looks at his legacy, zero impact.

Maybe Crosby doesn't give two f***s about your opinion, or mine, for that matter?

 

[Voight]

Maybe Crosby doesn't give two f***s about your opinion, or mine, for that matter?

He gains nothing from signing with the Habs.

 

[Neutrinos]

He didn't grow up dreaming of playing with Nathan MacKinnon...

If he goes anywhere, I think it'll be Montreal

 

[Sky04]

Delete



History and Legacy is important

And Montréal is about to Exit their rebuild anyway

Yeah into another one.

 

[Bouboumaster]

He gains nothing from signing with the Habs.

Maybe he does, because he wants to come here?

Yeah into another one.

Wishfull thinking

 

[Golden_Jet]

Maybe he does, because he wants to come here?



Wishfull thinking

If he wants to miss the playoffs, he could just stay in Pittsburgh, but there is a greater chance of playoffs there.