The Avalanche should swing big and trade for Sidney Crosby

The Colorado Avalanche gave Ray Bourque a chance to win a Stanley Cup when they acquired him from the Boston Bruins in March of 2000.

Just 16 months later, he was a champion, a perfect way to end his career.

And while Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby has three rings to his name, he’s not going to get a fourth if he stays in Pittsburgh.

The Avalanche should swing big, making a deal with the Penguins for Crosby to finish his career in Denver and be teammates with his good friend Nathan MacKinnon.

Pittsburgh was terrible last year, putting up only 80 points which was the fourth worst in the Eastern Conference. They won three Cups in the last 16 years, so it’s been a successful run, but all good things come to an end. It’s time for Crosby to wear a new sweater.

And after Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland dumped Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets, he’s suddenly got some salary cap space to work with. If Colorado included Martin Necas in a trade, the likely asking price and then some, they could easily fit in Crosby’s $8.7 million salary the next two seasons. Necas is due $6.5 million this coming year.

At 37-years-old, soon to be 38, Crosby isn’t exactly getting any younger. Some rumors started to surface over the weekend he could be available, something MacKinnon shot down on Instagram as “fake news.”

It was an interesting comment from the Avalanche’s superstar. On one hand, he was sticking up for a friend who probably doesn’t like hearing his name in trade talks. On the other, MacKinnon should desperately want Crosby on the team, right?

He could be Colorado’s second-line center, playing with Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin. How much fun would it be to watch those three skate together night after night? And Brock Nelson as a third-line center, after the Avalanche traded Coyle, would be the best in the league. This makes too much sense.

By all accounts, Crosby still has plenty left in the tank. 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. He’ll slow down eventually, but it doesn’t appear to be imminent.

MacFarland and team president Joe Sakic owe a move like this to MacKinnon and Cale Makar, as well as the fans. Trading Mikko Rantanen wasn’t exactly popular, then he ended Colorado’s season in the playoffs with a third period hat trick for the Dallas Stars in Game 7. You can’t script how poorly that trade has played out thus far.

But adding Crosby would instantly make Avalanche supporters forget about Rantanen. It’d be the type of all-in move that could deliver us a second parade in five years. Like Bourque helped Sakic, Patrick Roy and others get a second Stanley Cup in Denver, Crosby could do the same for MacKinnon and Makar.

This organization is an unique window to stack titles, but it hasn’t worked out the last three years. In fact, since beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in 2022, the Avs have won exactly one playoff series. That’s not good enough.

In 2023, it was a first-round exit to the Seattle Kraken. The next year, after beating the Jets in Round 1, it was the Stars bouncing the Avs in Round 2. Then this past season, you know what happened with Rantanen in Game 7.

MacFarland isn’t afraid to deal, making a stunning nine trades last season. Now with Coyle and Wood gone, he’s back at it again.

Crosby in an Avalanche sweater would look like a dream. It’s up to the front office to make it a reality, and create undeniable momentum going into a new campaign that will be here before you know it.

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