Sidney Crosby enters the final year of his deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and RDS.ca just floated a bold what-if for his season.
The Quebec outlet released its bold predictions for every team heading into 2026-27, and Pittsburgh's entry is the loudest one in the Metropolitan Division.
Their call: Crosby gets moved at the trade deadline. Not benched. Not injured. Traded.
It's a stunning thought for a franchise built around him for two decades. But the numbers behind the idea aren't imaginary.
"The end of an era: Sidney Crosby will be traded at the trade deadline."
Crosby posted 74 points last season, 29 goals and 45 assists in 68 games, still playing top-line minutes at 39 years old.
He carries an $8,700,000 cap hit for the Penguins this season, real money for a team that finished 10th overall with 98 points.
Pittsburgh went 41-25-16, good for second in the Metropolitan, and still needed a soft landing in the standings to sneak into the playoffs.
Penguins' first-round collapse fuels the trade talk
The Penguins ran into the Philadelphia Flyers in round one and dropped the series in six games, falling behind 3-0 before clawing back to force a deciding contest they lost in overtime.
Crosby still produced in that series, five points in six games including a goal and four assists.
That's not the profile of a player in decline. It's the profile of a front office wondering how many more years it can chase a Cup around him.
Dan Muse enters his second season behind the Pittsburgh bench, and general manager Kyle Dubas will be the one deciding whether to keep building or start clearing house.
Here's the wrinkle RDS points to directly: Crosby holds a full no-movement clause. Any trade happens because he says yes, not because Dubas forces it.
Would number 87 actually approve a deadline deal out of the only organization he's ever known?
Personally, that's the part of this prediction that feels off. Moving the face of a franchise at the deadline, mid-contract-year emotion and all, reads more like a splashy headline than a realistic outcome.
Still, the Penguins are staring at a roster that's aging fast around him, Evgeni Malkin included, and RDS isn't the only outlet connecting those dots this offseason.
Where this goes by March is anyone's guess. Pittsburgh hasn't confirmed a single word of it, and Crosby hasn't either.
Should the Penguins actually trade Sidney Crosby at the deadline if a real offer comes?
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