Sidney Crosby trade rumors: Penguins great insists 'this is where I want to be' ahead of 21st season with team

Sidney Crosby has spent his entire NHL career to this point with the Pittsburgh Penguins. If it were up to him, the Penguins' sweater will continue to be the only one he wears in what will easily be a Hall of Fame career. Crosby, 38, is entering the first year of a two-year, $17.4 million extension that he signed last September, but recent comments from his agent have intensified trade rumors. 

"There [are] a lot of narratives out there, and I don't think a lot of those have come from me," said Crosby, who is preparing for his 21st NHL season with the Penguins. "This is where I want to be. I love it here. I can't keep having to answer the same question over again because of these narratives. If people wanna write about that or say that, that's fine, but I can't really control that. 

"Obviously, when you lose and when there's certain things that happen, I think it's normal for that stuff to come up, but that's how I feel," he continued. 

As Crosby alluded, much of the speculation regarding his future has to do with the Penguins' lack of success in recent years. While his time with the Penguins includes three Stanley Cup championships, Pittsburgh hasn't won a playoff series since 2018 and has missed the postseason in each of the past three years. 

Instead of being traded to a contender, however, Crosby would apparently prefer to continue his career in Pittsburgh while playing alongside longtime teammates Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Crosby will also get one last chance to play with former teammate Marc-Andre Fleury as a member of the Penguins after the recently retired goalie signed a professional tryout contract for an upcoming preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.  

While he is a proud Canadian, Crosby considers Pittsburgh his second home. That affection, along with a likely understanding of his unique legacy as one of the greatest athletes in the city's rich sports history (a list that also includes fellow Penguins legend Mario Lemieux), are surely among the reasons why he wants to continue his career with the Penguins instead of chasing a ring someplace else. 

"It means so much," Crosby said when asked about playing hockey in Pittsburgh. "I talk about the first day, and you think about first impressions -- I didn't know a lot about Pittsburgh prior to being drafted, and I showed up at the airport and could barely move. The support I felt from Day 1, the relationships that I formed here, the memories, the teammates, the fans. ... I mean, you could go down the list. 

"I'm so grateful and thankful that I've had the opportunity to play here as long as I have. And I think anyone who knows me knows what the city means to me and how special it is. I don't take those rumors or some of those things lightly. Like I said, this is where I want to be. It's a special place, and it's something that is hard to put it all in a soundbite, but it means a lot."