RUMOR! Sidney Crosby could end up in Tampa Bay if he leaves Pittsburgh

Guess what? There's been more talk of Sidney Crosby joining the Canadiens in Montreal in the last few days, and in the last 48 hours we've heard…1. Sidney Crosby is flattered that a club like the Canadiens would want him.2. Pat Brisson, Sidney Crosby's agent, thinks his client – whom he compares to Tom Brady – should be in the post-season every year, and that he still has one or two Stanley Cups to win. His client wants to win.3. Could trading Ivan Demidov vs. Sidney Crosby be worth it for the Habs ?4. Sidney Crosby knows that all the Canadiens players have been practicing in Brossard for several weeks. The idea of joining them at the end of the season or next year could therefore be on his mind, according to many.5. The Canadiens are reportedly moving heaven and earth (David Reinbacher, Michael Hage and a first-round pick?) to get their hands on Sidney Crosby.

The Lightning will join the dance, if there is a danceYou thought we'd done the trick with Team Canada's captain? Well, we haven't! This morning, Renaud Lavoie delivered his daily morning column on the BPM Sports morning show live from the Toronto airport, and most of the talk was about Crosby on air. We're still hearing Montreal, Los Angeles and Denver as cities that might interest Sidney Crosby – if he ever leaves Pittsburgh – but Renaud added the name of a fourth city to the merry-go-round: Tampa Bay. Why Tampa Bay? Of course, there's the climate, the taxes, the quality team-mates, the collective success of the group on the ice… But it's above all the presence of Jon Cooper at the helm of the Lightning team that could attract Crosby to Florida's west coast, according to Renaud:

“They brought me another team. They brought me the Tampa Bay Lightning. What does the Tampa Bay Lightning have to do with all this? They looked at me, let's see, Renaud: Jon Cooper” – Renaud Lavoie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TfhXcdQa-4 Talking to NHL people in Las Vegas, Renaud was told that Jon Cooper's Stanley Cup credentials and the fact that he coached Canada (including Crosby) at last year's 4 Nations Confrontation (which Canada won) could prompt Crosby to consider the Florida option if he were to leave Pennsylvania.

I've been told not to rule out a team like the Lightning who might come in from behind, and then steal the very player other teams are trying to covet […] Jon Cooper is a guy who his players really like. His way of communicating; he's a guy who's always in a good mood with us, the media.”

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Renaud Lavoie

Remember that Crosby also rubbed shoulders with Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel at the 4 Nations. The Lightning had four 80-point players last season; imagine surrounding all those guys with none other than Sidney Crosby (91 points). The problem with that scenario, though? The Lightning don't have much room under the salary cap, they don't have a first-round pick in 2026 and 2027, and they've emptied their bank of prospects in several transactions over the years. I can't imagine Kyle Dubas wanting to dance with Julien BriseBois. But hey, magic happens! I think, at least…

'Prolongation'

Sidney Crosby, Kirill Kaprizov, Connor McDavid, Quinn Hughes… there are more and more important players whose future with their current team is in limbo. Not to mention Mitch Marner last year… Kent Hughes has done an excellent job of signing his best long-term players. That leaves Lane Hutson to lock up.