Reporters changing tune about Sidney Crosby signing extension with Penguins?

Throughout the summer, numerous reporters and insiders have routinely insisted superstar captain Sidney Crosby will sign a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins long before the 2024-2025 NHL season gets underway.

Interestingly, Josh Yohe of The Athletic admitted for a piece published Tuesday that the situation becomes "stranger" with each day that Crosby has only one season remaining on his existing deal. 

"If Crosby wanted to leave, that would be fine," Yohe noted. "...But that’s the thing — so far as I can tell (and so far as anyone else can tell), he does want to stay in Pittsburgh. I don’t even get the sense that he would consider leaving."

Crosby wears No. 87 and famously has earned $8.7M annually via his Penguins contract, so many understandably assumed an extension would be announced when he turned 37 years old on Aug. 7. 

Penguins insider Rob Rossi of The Athletic later reported that Aug. 7 "was never a target date for a new deal that [Crosby] and the team remain confident will be signed," but Yohe directly mentioned on Tuesday that something between the two sides seems "off."

While there's no indication Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Penguins, and/or team president/general manager Kyle Dubas are trying to push Crosby out the door, one can't help but wonder if he maybe is less-than-pleased with Pittsburgh's roster amid the early days of a needed rebuild. 

As of late Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Penguins at +120 betting odds to make the playoffs for the upcoming season after the club failed to qualify for the past two postseason tournaments.

"Will he sign between now and the middle of September, when training camp begins? I have to assume so," Yohe added about Crosby. That's a noticeable change of tone from how Yohe and others addressed the matter before the living legend became eligible to sign an extension in July.

Crosby became the subject of trade rumors this past winter even though he had "privately and publicly" made it known he ultimately wanted to retire as a one-club NHL man. Questions about how he'll finish his Hall of Fame career will only grow louder if no extension is announced before the Penguins open their preseason with a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 21.