The Pittsburgh Penguins look headed for a sell-off, but if there’s one thing that appears off the table, it’s Sidney Crosby. Elliotte Friedman said on The FAN Hockey Show that Crosby and Ben Kindel are the only two untouchable players as the Penguins weigh what comes next after their 5-9-2 start.
That start has put Pittsburgh in the kind of position many expected to see last season. With an aging core and a few young pieces worth building around, the Penguins could turn into one of the more active teams on the market. Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Evgeni Malkin are among the forwards expected to draw interest, while Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and Sam Girard could also be available on the blue line.
Kindel is the key young name in the mix, but Rutger McGroarty, Egor Chinakhov, and Ville Koivunen are also part of the group that could benefit if Pittsburgh opens up more ice time. Friedman said the asking price for those veterans remains high, and general manager Kyle Dubas is looking for a return built around draft picks and young NHL players who can step into a lineup right away.
That’s a little different from the usual stockpiling approach, where teams chase prospects and wait. Dubas wants players who are closer to proving themselves now.
Crosby, even with signs of regression defensively, remains the franchise anchor. The Penguins are almost certainly going to keep him until the end of his career.
In Toronto, John Tavares is back after missing nine games with a lower-body injury suffered on Oct. 15, and his return comes with one notable change: Gavin McKenna is moving to the second power-play unit.
With Tavares out, head coach Jim Hiller shuffled his lines constantly, though one setup seems likely to stick for now with Nick Paul at second-line center and Tavares and William Nylander on the wings. Even so, the Maple Leafs have been mixing things up so much during games that any projected alignment can change fast once the puck drops.
Tavares is also expected to reclaim his spot on the top power-play group, which pushes McKenna down a unit. The rookie didn’t bristle at the move.
“I am 18. There are a lot of guys on this team who have been in this league for a long time and know how to play [on the power play].
When you see a guy like John [Tavares] come and take your spot, you’re not too butthurt about it. Even being on a 2nd power play in the NHL, that feels pretty good”
McKenna handled the moment like a veteran.
Out in San Jose, the Sharks’ 7-10-1 start has raised questions, but not enough to trigger a coaching change. After entering the 2026-27 season with some optimism around Macklin Celebrini and the rest of their young core, the Sharks have not looked like the team many expected. Still, both San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng and TSN’s Pierre LeBrun have reported that the club is not considering replacing Ryan Warsofsky.
Warsofsky signed an extension before the season, and while that doesn’t make him untouchable, it does show the organization believes in him. Through 18 games, there have been plenty of choices people have questioned, including the defensive pairings, the use of Ty Dellandrea, and the way the lines keep changing. The players-only meeting after a loss to the Los Angeles Kings only added to the noise.
For now, though, the Sharks are staying the course. Development doesn’t always move in a straight line, and with so many young players in the room, the bumps are part of the process.
In Other News...
Penguins Face A Bigger Problem Than Just Another Road Game
The Penguins head into Crypto.com Arena trying to stop a skid that has left them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and the timing is not ideal. Los Angeles is coming off a win powered by strong offensive play, while Pittsburgh is still searching for traction on the road and trying to steady a lineup that has not found much rhythm during this recent stretch.
Arturs Silovs is expected to get the start in goal, which adds another layer to a night already heavy with pressure for a team looking to reset its footing. There is still some uncertainty around the crease situation, and with the Penguins trying to piece together better results in a difficult matchup, every decision feels a little more consequential than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Sidney Crosby Just Added Another Chapter To His Penguins Legacy
Sidney Crosby keeps finding new ways to deepen his place in Penguins history, and the latest milestone came against the Los Angeles Kings. The veteran center added another point to his remarkable career total, a reminder that even in the later stages of his run, he is still stacking up accomplishments at a pace that few players in NHL history can match.
Crosby also chipped in later in the game as Pittsburgh snapped a four-game losing streak, a small but welcome lift for a team looking to steady itself. He already owns the NHL record for 21 consecutive seasons with a point-per-game average, and he recently set another mark with the most points for a single franchise, so every new chapter only adds to a legacy that keeps growing in real time. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Trade Dream Comes Down To One Massive Hurdle
A slow start has put Pittsburgh in a position where veteran names could start surfacing in trade conversations sooner rather than later, and Evgeni Malkin is right there at the center of it. The longtime Penguins center has trade protection, which makes any potential move more complicated, but his name has already been connected to several possible destinations as teams around the league start to think about big-picture upgrades.
Minnesota, Edmonton and Montreal have all been mentioned as fits, each for different reasons, but the process is anything but simple. Malkin is expected to submit a three-team trade list in January, and until that happens, the market remains more theory than reality. For the Penguins, it is another reminder that a difficult season could eventually force some uncomfortable decisions. [Read more 🡒]