ESPN’s Senior NHL Writer says Sidney Crosby to Avalanche is a ‘pipedream’

Rumors have been swirling for months regarding Sidney Crosby potentially playing for the Avalanche, but those hopes now seem like a 'pipedream' as the offseason dwindles

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jul 10, 2025, 12:33 PM

Follow on Google News

Watch: Why haven't the Avs gotten a deal done with Cale Makar? | Stokley and Evans with Mark Schlereth | 1 min

The Colorado Avalanche have been searching for different ways to improve their roster since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. While general manager Chris MacFarland have had bold ideas about doing so, like when he shipped Mikko Rantanen to Carolina well before the trade deadline this past season, the time is running out as Nathan MacKinnon is entering his 13th season, and more win-now answers are needed to get back to the mountaintop.

An idea that has seen much speculation is the Avalanche trading with the Penguins for Sidney Crosby, one of the greatest players to ever take the ice in the NHL. The center is in the twilight years of his illustrious career, but still has enough gas in the tank for one or two more runs with a contending team. He put up 91 points a season ago, tallying 33 goals and 58 assists. It was the fourth straight year he’s scored at least 30 goals and also had a minimum of 84 points.

The Penguins haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, haven’t advanced past the first round since 2018 and haven’t won the Cup since 2017 when Crosby was at the peak of his prime, and the recent woes have raised questions about whether or not he’ll retire as a Penguin.

The reason why Crosby’s name is always brought up with the Avalanche is because of his relationship with MacKinnon, as the two are good friends, work out together and are from the same area in Nova Scotia up in Canada. They finally were able to team up on the ice with each other for the first time in the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February as they helped lead Canada to the gold medal in the tournament, and it made even more people ponder about the possibility of the Nova Scotians teaming up together in the burgundy and blue.

However, the light surrounding that possibility is dimming with each day that comes and goes, and ESPN’s Senior NHL Writer Greg Wyshynski dashed the hopes of it even more on Wednesday.

“I’ve long believed he’ll end his career in Montreal; I always assumed if it wasn’t Pittsburgh, it was going to be Montreal, that’s kind of where I’m at with it; the Colorado thing is sort of like a pipedream,” Wyshynski said on a podcast.

Greg Wyshynski: Re Sidney Crosby: I've long believed he'll end his career in Montreal; I always assumed if it wasn't Pittsburgh, it was going to be Montreal, that's kind of where I'm at with it; the Colorado thing is sort of like a pipedream – The Sheet

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 10, 2025

This comes just after MacKinnon himself said that Crosby coming to the Avalanche was “fake news” when the rumors heated up.

Another aspect to take into account is the salary. Crosby is making just under $9 million per year, so the Avalanche would have to dump roughly another $5 million in a potential trade with Pittsburgh to make the books clean. With how MacFarland has been operating this calendar year, nothing is off the table, but this kind of move is also unlikely given the other stuff the Avs have done.

Along with that, the Avs already have four centers on the roster, one for each line. What they need are more wingers to add to the bottom six, as the depth there is very bleak especially considering Logan O’Connor’s hip surgery. This would be a fun move and cool to see two greats share the ice together, but the priority right now needs to be adding more wings before any more centers join the squad.

Free agency has practically come and gone already, but there are still a few decent names the Avalanche can pick up. In order to do so, MacFarland needs to wake up and get on the phone with some people before those guys are gone as well. He’s got to have one more move to make, right?