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...
Sharks Desperately Shake Up Lineup As Bigger Questions Start Looming
The Sharks are trying to jolt a lineup that has been searching for answers, and the latest tweak comes ahead of a matchup with the Minnesota Wild. Michael Misa has been shifted to left wing on the top line, a move that underscores how San Jose is still experimenting with its forward group as it looks for any combination that can generate more traction.
Filip Bystedt is sitting as a healthy scratch, while Yaroslav Askarov is set to start in goal again as the team tries to steady itself after recent losses. A players-only meeting followed the skid, and with Ryan Warsofsky still under contract and no plans for a coaching change, the pressure is increasingly about performance and urgency rather than a quick external fix. Alexander Wennberg remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, though he could be activated soon. [Read more 🡒]
Celebrini And Sharks Trying To Block Out The Noise Again
The Sharks 7-2 loss to the Kings was the kind of night that leaves a lot of room for postgame reflection, and there was no shortage of it afterward. San Jose has now dropped six of its last seven, and the tone in the room centered on the same familiar themes: some individual bright spots, some uneven stretches, and a need for cleaner play as the losses keep piling up.
Ryan Warsofsky singled out Michael Misa and said Ty Dellandrea may have turned in his best game of the season, even as the fourth line came under scrutiny for its struggles. The bigger challenge is coming fast, with the Sharks heading into a back-to-back against the Dallas Stars, and the question now is whether they can put the noise aside long enough to reset before the schedule tightens again. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Skid Feels Even Worse After Another Flat Night In Minnesota
A rough stretch for the Sharks got a little harder to ignore in Minnesota, where San Jose dropped a 4-1 decision and left the ice with its losing streak stretched to four games. The night had the look of one that slipped away early, with the Wild cashing in on special teams and controlling enough of the game to keep the Sharks from ever settling in.
Minnesota also had plenty to celebrate beyond the final score, adding another milestone to a season that has gone smoothly. For San Jose, though, the bigger concern is the way the losses are piling up, and how little margin there seems to be right now when the opponent starts finding rhythm and the Sharks are still searching for theirs. [Read more 🡒]