There’s an unwritten rule of serious hockey analysis: Don’t ever mention trading for Sidney Crosby.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have missed the playoffs three straight seasons and are going on an eighth-straight year of not winning a playoff round. All through that, Crosby has been steadfast in his commitment to staying in Pittsburgh. His priority is to be a lifelong Penguin. He’s made his money, he’s won his Stanley Cups, so he doesn’t have to chase either. Imagining he’ll get traded — much less to an NHL backwater like the Minnesota Wild — is a pointless exercise.
But in the euphoria of the Quinn Hughes trade, Michael Russo went on Sportsnet 590 on Monday and half-jokingly suggested, “I think there might be one veteran center out there that [Bill Guerin would] probably give up a lot for, but I don’t even wanna start those rumors.”
Sorry, Michael. This is going to be Apology 1 of 2 today.
Look, Sportsnet’s hosts were egging Russo on a bit. It was a joke, I get it. But then he elaborated his thoughts on the matter on his “Worst Seats in the House” podcast from Monday night, responding to a question about the possibility of trading for Crosby.
“I think [a Crosby trade] will be a storyline after the Olympics, right before the trade deadline. And I have no doubt in my mind that Billy will get in on that,” he said. “The question in my mind is, what do you give up? What if they ask for Jesper Wallstedt? Are you giving up Jesper Wallstedt for a 38-year-old center? So what could the Wild package to get him?”
The crowd at the live taping shouted “no,” and Russo’s co-host concurred. The Wild just spent their blue-chip No. 1 Defenseman of the Future to get nothing more than a year-and-a-half guaranteed from Hughes. Giving up more pieces? A 23-year-old blue-chip goalie of the future in Wallstedt, or a 21-year-old rookie like Danila Yurov, a center who’s already muscling into the Wild’s top-six? For ages 38 and 39 of Crosby? Come on, that’s too much mortgaging of the future.
Here’s Apology No. 2, Michael (and Wild fans, and half the Hockey Wilderness staff): What are we even talking about here? It’s Sidney G–d— Crosby. If he’s available (and, again! Huge if!), empty the cupboards. Tell Judd Brackett he’ll have to make do with fourth-round picks until the 2030s. Who cares???
It’s understandable if “Wanting Sidney Crosby” reads like Bill Guerin buying into his most frustrating tendencies. Yes, Guerin is prone to adding players in their 30s and not worrying too much about their decline years. Between Marc-Andre Fleury, Ian Cole, Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstad, and Ryan Reaves, Guerin has had a fondness for trying to recapture the magic he saw as an Assistant GM in Pittsburgh. There are plenty of Wild fans primed to reject the idea of giving up pieces to get another aging Penguin.
But also… It’s Sidney Freaking Crosby. It doesn’t matter if he’s 38. Guerin should be willing to do just about anything he can to get him on his team.
The simple fact is that Crosby, at 38, is still better than most players at 28. He is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals with 19, the same as Connor Bedard, Brad Marchand, and Bo Horvat. That’s just one fewer than Kirill Kaprizov (28 years old) and one more than Matt Boldy (24 years old). His 34 points are in the league’s top-25, tied with 29-year-old William Nylander.
It feels stupid to say that Crosby checks all the boxes of what the Wild need, because as we’ve established, he’s still Sidney Crosby. He’s a center who plays nearly 20 minutes a night and wins 55% of his draws. His scoring touch is still intact. Even if his two-way game has slipped, he still drives the puck into the offensive zone at an elite level. That’s before we get into any intangibles, his track record in high-stakes games, or the hardware on his shelves.
Having an eye on the future is smart for teams, but it’s just as important to know when “The Future” will never be as good as “Right Now.” If the Wild get any chance of landing Crosby, they’d have the best winger in the Western Conference in Kaprizov. They’d have the West’s (and league’s) consensus second-best defenseman in Hughes. Among Western Conference centers, Crosby would only be behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Nathan MacKinnon. Jack Eichel would be the only other center even in that conversation.
In this pipe-dream, I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it scenario, there’s not a team in the West that can match that. Minnesota would become instant favorites over anyone except the Colorado Avalanche, or maybe the Edmonton Oilers.
So why do any prospect-hugging? No future is going to be better than that, and if two years of Crosby means sending away young talent like Wallstedt or Yurov, so be it.
Nobody would even have argued that Wallstedt is untouchable as recently as November 1. Yes, Wallstedt is at the top of his game now, with a staggering .937 save percentage. His brilliance was the driving force of the Wild turning their season around, going from well outside the playoff bubble to a team that can attract Hughes. He looks like the next Andrei Vasilevskiy or Henrik Lundqvist, and what idiot would give that up for a 38-year-old?
That’s how it feels right now, absolutely. But we’re also talking about 12 games. It shows proof of concept for Wallstedt, which was badly needed after a difficult season last year. Beyond that, though, it doesn’t really tell us anything about what he’ll be in five years or ten. Goalies get hot sometimes. Wallstedt has a long way to go before proving it, and if his stock is raised to the point where he could get someone like Crosby, that would be potentially selling high.
It’s a similar situation with Yurov. Sure, he could be a top-six center, a building block for the team. He’s played better than his eight points in 26 games would suggest. But for a team going all-in, finding elite talent over the next two, three, or four years will have more value to this team’s window than worrying about anything beyond 2030 or so.
Obviously, Crosby is probably the most extreme (and unrealistic!) example of getting a “Win Now” player, but this discussion shouldn’t be limited to him. With Kaprizov and Hughes together, the window is now, and it extends to the point where Kaprizov ages out of being an elite player and/or Hughes leaves the organization. That might be a half-decade or more, but Guerin and the Wild are really only guaranteed that window for two more years.
Guerin still needs to manage his assets wisely. No one wants to see the Wild trade Wallstedt, Yurov, or anyone else to land the next Martin Hanzal. But if Zeev Buium was on the table, then everyone’s on the table for an elite player who can elevate this club in their guaranteed window. Whether it’s Crosby (probably not!) or any player who fits that build (whoever that might be!), the Wild will be more than justified in forgoing the future for today.
