If Crosby should suddenly pull a 180 when he comes back from this 10-day break and says, “You know what? We aren’t winning. I do want outta here. Trade me,” I would have a problem with that....

I’m not naive enough to think that Crosby absolutely, positively has to stay in Pittsburgh until he retires. He has stated that would be his preference. Fenway Sports Group has stated the same thing. Unfortunately, if Gretzky can get traded, Crosby can play elsewhere too. Should Crosby make that move himself (for the reasons Hayes points out) when his contract expires after the 2025 season ends, so be it.

Crosby’s status as the franchise’s greatest and most important player, aside from Lemieux, will be unimpacted. He will have given 20 years and three championships of service. And if he wants to play somewhere else after that, with a franchise that is closer to Cup competition, then we’ll just have to deal with it.

-Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sidney Crosby. Benz has more on this topic.