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...
Maple Leafs' Shorthanded Lineup Fell Apart In A Brutal Home Loss
The Maple Leafs ran into a tough night at home as New Jersey kept rolling, skating away with a 4-0 win behind Connor Hellebuycks 23-save shutout. The Devils have now won five straight, with Timo Meier scoring twice and Nico Hischier adding a goal and an assist while Jack Hughes set up two more. Toronto, meanwhile, never found a way through and was blanked in front of its own crowd.
For a lineup already stretched thin by injuries, the margin for error was gone quickly, and the game only got harder as the night unfolded. The Leafs were missing several key pieces and could not generate the kind of push needed to keep pace with a Devils team that looked in control from the start, leaving Toronto with another reminder of how fragile things can get when the roster is depleted. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Have One Edge Keeping An Ugly Start From Getting Worse
The Maple Leafs have spent the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season trying to keep their footing, and the early record reflects how uneven things have been. At 8-8-2, they are hanging near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but one part of their game has at least kept the slide from getting steeper.
Special teams have been the stabilizer, with the power play producing at a high level and the penalty kill doing its part to limit damage. Even so, the bigger concern remains the five-on-five game, where Toronto has not been nearly as effective, and that is the area that will have to tighten up if the team is going to turn a middling start into something more sustainable. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Face A Tough Call If A Blockbuster Opens Up
If a true blockbuster trade opportunity lands in Torontos lap, the Maple Leafs may have to decide how far they are willing to go to make it happen. The discussion starts with the kind of assets that can actually move the needle in a major deal, and that means looking beyond roster players to the future pieces that have real value around the league.
Easton Cowan is the name that will matter most in any serious negotiation, even if the case for keeping him is strong. Beyond him, Toronto can point to the first-round pick it owns from Colorado and a pair of prospects in Ben Danford and Tinus Luc Koblar, giving the club some flexibility if the right premium target suddenly becomes available. [Read more 🡒]