The chatter about the Colorado Avalanche acquiring Penguins legend Sidney Crosby has been going on for several years. It was very recently brought to life again by NHL reporter Elliott Friedman.
Of course, another one of those times was after the Avalanche won the Stanley cup in 2021-22. The idea there was to “run it back,” as they say. Back then, we hardly knew the status of Gabriel Landeskog and up until only this postseason did we really have a clear view of Landeskog’s eventual progress.
Personally, I don’t think that Crosby is ever coming to Colorado. An aging Crosby is not what this team needs. Sure, it would have been cool to see it happen at some point, but not anymore. That time has passed, not only because of Crosby’s age, but I don’t think the Avalanche are really in a position to trade some of their pieces for a guy who is realistically only going to be playing a couple more years at the most.
Colorado unfortunately tried to go all-in on this season by trading away a couple of their prized prospects along with some draft picks, which definitely hurts their future. They really should not have included a prospect like Calum Ritchie as well as a conditional first-round pick in 2026, and conditional third-round pick in 2028 in a trade for Brock Nelson, who is 33 years old. I understand the team wanted to win now, but look where that got them: Eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Stars. Ouch.
Another point to make is that Crosby is the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. There’s no chance he would assume that role if he were traded to the Avalanche simply because Gabriel Landeskog has been that piece ever since he was drafted in 2011.
Some also feel like the Avalanche should sort of start a rebuild based off of their past postseason results following their Stanley Cup victory. That’s exactly the sort of thing that Crosby does not want to be a part of. IF there is/was any chance of Crosby coming to the Avalanche, the word “rebuild” would ultimately end that idea.
Lastly, I’m not a believer that Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby being best buddies is reason to connect the two onto the Avalanche. Maybe the idea was cool several years ago, but I don’t think that it would be a good business move at this point.
What should the Colorado Avalanche do instead?
I think that the Avalanche need to targets younger players who they feel can show true potential. It would be nice to see some players come in who are on 2-way contracts and can be sent down to the AHL Colorado Eagles to build their strengths but also have the flexibility to call them up for a couple of games.
Colorado currently has a couple of notable players in the AHL, such as Chris Wagner, Jere Innala, Ivan Ivan, Nikita Prischepov, and Taylor Makar. All of these players except Makar have played in an NHL game with the Avalanche at some point.
I don’t know what sort of return any of those players would get while included in some sort of trade, but if I had to guess, Wagner and Prischepov would be off limits for trade. At least, that’s what I would have in mind if I were Chris MacFarland. There’s no way I’m trading those two.
Frankly, I’m surprised that Prischepov didn’t return to the Avalanche after he got sent down to the Eagles earlier in the season. I was really sure that he would after he looked pretty impressive in limited action. I guess that goes to show that there is a lot more to take into account than the eye test from your television.