Crosby says he's done addressing trade rumours
Published
Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is over addressing what have become constant trade rumours with his team staring down missing the playoffs for a third straight season.
Recent speculation has linked Crosby to joining fellow Nova Scotia native Nathan MacKinnon with the Colorado Avalanche after they traded star winger Mikko Rantanen last week.
"I know how speculation works: Everybody's looking to talk about different things, different scenarios," Crosby told DK Pittsburgh Sports. "I can't control that. I don't know where that comes from. I don't think that it's something I'm going to discuss every time someone speculates something. I'm not going to answer it every time that happens."
The 37-year-old centre has 15 goals and 53 points in 52 games this season, but the Penguins have struggled to stay in the playoff race. The team enters play Wednesday sitting second last in the Eastern Conference, seven points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild-card spot with three more games played.
Crosby, who signed a two-year extension with the Penguins this past summer that takes him through 2026-27 at a familiar $8.7 million cap hit, said his focus remains solely on helping the Penguins.
"I'm trying to do everything I possibly can for us," Crosby said. "Be at my best, to give us a chance to win every night, to be a good teammate. We all want to get through a difficult point right now. That's my mindset.
"All my energy is here and trying to do everything I can here."
Crosby's comments come days after TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reported the Penguins star had no interest in being moved following the Rantanen blockbuster.
"Unless something changes -- and at this point I have absolutely ZERO reason to believe it will -- Sidney Crosby isn't being traded out of Pittsburgh," Johnston wrote in a post on X. "He's an untouchable as far as the Pens are concerned, plus he's got a no-movement clause and no desire to be dealt."
While the Penguins have struggled to find team success in recent years, Crosby's output has not faltered. He posted his third career 40-goal season last year, finishing with 42 goals and 94 points in 82 games. He had 33 goals and 93 points in 2022-23.
Crosby has spent his entire 20-year career with the Penguins after going first overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, tallying 607 goals, 1,042 assists and 1,649 assists in 1,324 games. He is the franchise leader in games played and assists, but continues to chase Mario Lemieux's 690 goals and 1,723 points in a Penguins uniform.
A two-time Hart Trophy winner, Crosby led the Penguins to Stanley Cup titles in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
He holds a no-movement clause on both his expiring 12-year contract and his incoming two-year extension.