What Would It Cost to Get Sidney Crosby

Since LeBrun’s article has gone up, there have been fans and media discussing that it would likely cost Ivan Demidov straight-up to get Sidney Crosby. However, that isn’t realistic to think of from the Habs perspective because Demidov is a 19-year-old future superstar, whereas Crosby, though a generational talent, is 38 years old and may only have another 3-4 years in the NHL at the most. For the Habs, they are just getting into their playoff team window, and Demidov is expected to be a massive part of that future. To actually get Crosby, it will need to be a deal where a massive package goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Here is what the deal would need to end up being, in my opinion. 

To start, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are the beginning of a potentially long rebuild, would want futures rather than players that can help them now. Although they would need to take on a contract around $4 million mark from the Canadiens to make the salary of Crosby’s contract fit within their cap situation. 

Therefore, a player like Mike Matheson, who would be in the final year of his contract that pays him $4.8 million, would likely need to be included in the deal (the Penguins could flip him to another contender after and get more assets).

On top of Matheson, the Penguins would also need to get at least 2 1st picks and a top-level prospect to even consider trading their franchise player. Here is where it may end up being where we, as Habs fans, wouldn’t like the deal as much. 

As Pierre McGuire said on Tuesday night’s episode of the Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, the Habs would need to at least trade one of David Reinbacher, Michael Hage or Jacob Fowler for a deal to happen. Let’s analyze these three players and see which is the one that could be easiest to sacrifice in a deal for the generational centre (there is a right choice, from what I think).

Reinbacher is a right-handed defenseman with the potential to be a top-pairing defenseman if he can stay healthy. While he’s far from a sure thing, he is close to NHL-ready and could be the ideal partner for Lane Hutson in the near future. This is why I’d take him out of the consideration for trading Crosby. 

Next, let’s go to Hage, who has the potential of the team’s 2nd line centre, but he is still about 2 years away from being that guy. Nonetheless, the Canadiens would be desperate to have a skilled centre if he were to be traded for a 38-year-old superstar. In reality, that would leave the Habs 2 years to find a younger replacement for Crosby, which Hage would be able to be if he stays on the team.

Finally, we have Jacob Fowler, who is expected to be the Canadiens’ next starting goalie. However, at just 28 years old, Samuel Montembeault is just entering his prime as a netminder and could be among the top 10 goalies in the NHL for the next 5 years. On top of that, Jakub Dobes is looking like a solid 1b goaltender. With that being said, if the Habs really want Crosby, sacrificing Fowler may be the best starting point to make it happen. The Habs would still have time to find Montembeault’s replacement in the next few drafts.

On top of the 2 1st rounders and Fowler, the Penguins may want another sweetener to add to the deal, where maybe a prospect like Oliver Kapanen or Joshua Roy (if he has a good start in Laval) could be what makes the deal complete.

If you were Kent Hughes, would you consider trading Matheson, Fowler, Roy/Kapanen and 2 1st Rounders for Sidney Crosby? Or do you even think that’s enough to get the deal done?