Three years removed from a post-season appearance, the noise around Sidney Crosby‘s future won’t go away.
Pat Brisson, agent to the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar, said he believes Crosby “should be playing playoff hockey every year” in an interview with The Athletic published Tuesday.
Brisson was asked if Crosby would ever consider a trade away from the only team he’s ever known.
“It’s always a possibility, you know? It’s been three years they haven’t made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do,” Brisson said.
Crosby, who is under contract through the 2026-27 season at $8.7 million per year, said he “understands” the speculation about his future.
“It’s one of those things. That’s the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that the buzzer goes and you lose a game and that sucks, but there’s so much more than that,” he told reporters Monday at the NHL’s media tour in Las Vegas.
“But it doesn’t 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’t a bad thing, either. We’ve 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.”
The 38-year-old Crosby continues to star even in his later years. Last season, he scored 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) while playing 80 games and also helped lead Canada to the 4 Nations Face-Off title.
Brisson compared Crosby to NFL superstar Tom Brady, who left the New England Patriots after 20 years and went on to win the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Likewise, Crosby has been a Penguin for exactly two decades.
“We want Sidney to be in the playoffs every year. We want him to hopefully win another Cup or two. So each year the team he’s playing for fails to make the playoffs, it creates a lot of speculation,” Brisson said.
“In reality, he’s not getting any younger. We’re here to support him. It’s the beginning of the season here. Let’s see how things are going. Hopefully, they have a great season and the speculation will go away.”
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas also said the goal is to return to the post-season.
“We have no control over speculation or the desire 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,” he told The Athletic.
Still, fans of the Colorado Avalanche dream of seeing him suit up alongside friend and fellow Cole Harbour, N.S., product Nathan MacKinnon.
Crosby, who captured Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014, also grew up a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. He appeared taken aback by the ovation he got at the Bell Centre as Canada’s captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February.
It got people thinking.
“I get it, trust me,” Crosby, who tied Connor McDavid for his country’s scoring lead with five points at the showcase event, said of the chatter. “I understand just how passionate they are. Whether it’s those experiences or guys that I’ve played with that have played there and playing there in the playoffs and 4 Nations, all these different things, I mean, I get it.
“I get it as to why that would come up.”
But that chatter also hits a nerve.
“It doesn’t make any easier when you when you’re losing, for sure, to hear those things,” Crosby said. “But at the same time, to know that a team like that wants you, it’s not the end of the world.
“It could be worse.”
–with files from The Canadian Press
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