Montreal writer Guillaume Lefrançois of the French-language outlet La Presse spoke with Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot about Sidney Crosby’s future on Friday at a charity golf tournament. Fleury noted that Crosby’s future will be up to him, and that he’s loyal to the Penguins. But if it were up to Fleury, he’d like to see Crosby get a chance to win elsewhere.
“I can’t answer for him, but I hope for him that he does leave,” Fleury said, translated by our Nic Lavigne. “It’s been three years in a row that Pittsburgh has missed the playoffs, and it’s not looking good for next season.”
Talbot said that he’s not buying into the speculation over Crosby potentially finishing his career in another uniform.
“It’s not unthinkable, but I don’t get involved in rumors,” Talbot said. “It’s fun for the fans, for the media, to talk about it. But it’s going to come down to what he wants to do. We’ll see, but I wouldn’t bet my house that he’s going to leave.”
To be clear: There’s never been any actual reporting anywhere that the Penguins are even considering asking Crosby to waive his no-movement clause, and there’s never been any actual reporting that Crosby wants out. It’s entirely fan- and media-created speculation, largely out of Canada, stemming only from a desire to see him either go “home” or play for a contender. I spoke one-on-one with Crosby about that speculation last season, and he told me, “I know that all my energy and all my focus is toward helping us and doing the best we can, and I can’t control any of that other stuff,” not exactly hiding his irritation that this is something people continue to discuss.