The Montreal Canadiens have gotten some major moves completed in the past few days. First, they locked in defencemen Lane Hutson to an eight-year, $70.8 million contract extension. Shortly after, the Canadiens gave general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton five-year contract extensions. The team looks ready to become playoff contenders for the foreseeable future, considering the young stars they have under contract.
Given the Canadiens' outlook, they could be in a position to make a big move in the future. Of course, one player who will surround Montreal is Sidney Crosby, the long-time superstar for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins aren't expected to contend for the playoffs and could very well sell at the trade deadline again. Of course, Crosby will be the talk of it.
During a recent appearance on Sportsnet's Kyper and Bourne with Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne, TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie discussed a hypothetical trade for the Canadiens to acquire Crosby if the star were to want out of Pittsburgh. Lavoie believes it wouldn't take too much, especially if Crosby were to demand a trade to Montreal.
"They'll probably look at the Montreal Canadiens' D-core," said Lavoie. "Can it be a David Reinbacher, who's a right-shot defenceman? Can it be someone else on the roster? An Oliver Kapanen, who's right now trying to understand the league, but he's playing way better right now than he did a year ago when he arrived in the NHL. I believe you have to throw picks, you have to throw probably a couple of really good young players. But I'll say that's about it."
Sure, the Canadiens do have the assets to make a trade like this. But there is one problem — Crosby doesn't want to be traded.
Canadiens' hypothetical trade is fantasy since Sidney Crosby wants to stay with Penguins
Ever since the Penguins began their steps towards a rebuild, fans and media have been envisioning Crosby potentially being traded elsewhere. Since Crosby is at the tail-end of his career, there's a chance he would want to play for a Stanley Cup contender to add another title to his resume. The thing is, that is all speculation.
While handing out gifts to season ticket holders this summer, Crosby spoke with reporters and explicitly expressed his desire to remain with the Penguins.
"Yeah, I mean, that's a lot of things to cover in one answer. But I think that there's a lot of narratives out there, and I don't think a lot of those have come from me. So, this is where I want to be. I love it here. I can't keep having to answer the same question over again, because these narratives, like – if people want to write about that or say that, that's fine, but I can't really control that. Obviously, when you lose and when there are certain things that happen, I think it's normal for that stuff to come up, but that’s how I feel," said Crosby, h/t the Penguins' official website.
You can't get any more definitive than that. Crosby wants to remain in Pittsburgh, and he's getting tired of answering questions about hypothetically getting traded just because of the direction of the Penguins. It sure sounds like he's ready to finish his career in Pittsburgh.
For the Canadiens, it would obviously be a dream for the team to have one of the best Canadian hockey players of all time join the team. As Lavoie said, a trade for Crosby wouldn't cost the team a Cole Caufield or Jusuf Slafkovsky. They have the young depth like Reinbacher and Kapanen, but the decision is not theirs or the Penguins. It's Crosby's.
Until you hear otherwise, Crosby will remain in Pittsburgh.