Imagining Crosby elsewhere, Schaefer's unique spot, and 6 other NHL items
Sidney Crosby's future - specifically, whether he's open to leaving the Penguins one day - was at the heart of multiple news cycles earlier in September.
The first one followed a comment from Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, who said a late-career trade is "always a possibility." Then Crosby himself stated Pittsburgh is "where I want to be."
But how will Crosby - who absolutely despises losing - feel when the rebuilding Penguins are more or less out of playoff contention by December? The 38-year-old, who's under contract through 2026-27, controls his future thanks to a no-movement clause. He's earned unparalleled respect as a generational player also known for being a class act. This is his choice.
I personally find it difficult to even imagine Crosby in a different No. 87 uniform. We assumed for the longest time that he'd be a one-team player.
Then again, circumstances change. An elite athlete's career, even one as prosperous as Crosby's, is rarely as long as the athlete wants it to be. What-ifs can become more compelling when the end approaches. If Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and other all-timers can make late-career pivots, why not Crosby?
The main reason Crosby would leave Pittsburgh midseason, next offseason, during the 2026-27 campaign, or in free agency is to chase a fourth Stanley Cup. He also cares about his public image and the history of the game, so his list of preferred destinations would probably be shorter than most players'.
Here are five teams, ordered from most likely to least likely, that make sense:
Avalanche: Stanley Cup contender. Fellow Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native and close friend Nathan MacKinnon would make for a dream running mate.
Canadiens: Childhood team. Original Six franchise. Ascendant young core.
Oilers: Lure of playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. (Sub in McDavid's new NHL city if the best player in the world leaves the Oilers.)
Panthers: Cup contender working on dynasty status. Model franchise.
Golden Knights: Somehow, some way, they're in on virtually every high-profile player.
No. 1 Schaefer's unique situation
Erik Johnson and Owen Power are the only first overall picks since 2000 to have spent the season directly following the draft in a league below the NHL.
There's an outside chance Matthew Schaefer - the Islanders' new franchise cornerstone who turned 18 just a few weeks ago - could join them. His situation is unique and layered.
Johnson and Power, defensemen like Schaefer, both opted to play in the NCAA, where the competition is pro-like and a light game schedule allows for extra time in the weight room. Schaefer became ineligible for college hockey after he signed his entry-level NHL contract. He can't suit up in the AHL because players drafted out of Canadian junior - Schaefer starred for the OHL's Erie Otters the past two seasons - are currently ineligible as teenagers.
Schaefer has two options: NHL or OHL. The intelligent two-way blue-liner with a gorgeous skating stride turned heads in his first preseason game Sunday, recording an assist and five shots on goal while logging nearly 25 minutes. Islanders coach Patrick Roy gushed to reporters about Schaefer's debut, labeling one backchecking sequence in overtime "out of this world."
"He's going to be one of, if not the best defenseman in the league - I think, at some point, just based off of his instincts right now," Isles forward Mat Barzal said prior to the 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers.
Schaefer's early game tape and the praise from within the organization suggest he'll stick with the Isles for the full season. At worst, he's earned a handful of regular-season games.
But there's still a chance the Isles make the safer choice and return him to the Otters at some point. Unlike most top prospects coming out of junior, Schaefer doesn't have a dominant season under his belt. He played only 17 OHL games last year after suffering an injury at the world juniors. He needs game reps, and he'd be able to assert himself in a way that's impossible at the NHL level.
Schaefer playing in the OHL could hurt the Isles in the short term but help in the long run. New York's better off claiming premium draft lottery odds than scratching and clawing all year just to finish 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Bruins searching for 'perfect triangle' 2.0
Charlie McAvoy thinks the 2025-26 Bruins are "a playoff team every day."
Sportsbooks disagree. Boston's over-under for points sits at 80.5, largely due to a lack of depth. The lineup thins out quickly - it's McAvoy, David Pastrnak, Jeremy Swayman, Hampus Lindholm, and then a bunch of dudes.
This transitional season will involve a reset behind the scenes.
Boston and San Jose are the only NHL teams without a captain. The Bruins might go all season without naming a successor to Brad Marchand (who took over for Patrice Bergeron in 2023, who took over for Zdeno Chara in 2021). But if someone's going to get the "C," it's either McAvoy, 27, or Pastrnak, 29.
McAvoy said earlier in September that recalibrating the culture is the Bruins' "biggest objective" right now. Pastrnak is the only player still around from McAvoy's NHL debut in the 2017 playoffs, while Marco Sturm is now running the bench. The German is the fifth head coach of Pastrnak's NHL career and McAvoy's fourth.
"Me and Pasta aren't Bergy or Z or Marchy," McAvoy said at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. "How am I going to help him and how is he going to help me, as we lead? Because those three had the perfect triangle."
He explained, "Z leaned on Bergy to do A, B, and C. When that didn't work, he leaned on Marchy to do it. Then Marchy would go back to them. The way they (led) - what they had in place (in complementing each other) - was so special. That doesn't just happen."
Dubois on living the 'no bucket' life
The NHL player pool is split into two groups: those who entered the league in or before 2018-19 and thus aren't required to wear a helmet in pregame warmup, and those who entered in or after 2019-20 and must wear a helmet.
Going "no bucket" is dangerous - hence the helmet mandate, which took effect in fall 2023. Even so, it's a quirk veterans take pleasure in. Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois says warming up with your face fully exposed, your manicured hair on display, and pucks flying around can be a real "rush." You feel cool - Hollywood cool. And your senses are heightened.
"I feel alive and awake," he said before listing off the associated hazards. "You can't go behind the net. You can't (get caught skating at a) bad angle. You always have to be on the lookout for anything. You don't want to fall."
Going bucketless apparently also adds a fear factor for opponents. Dubois, who debuted in 2017-18, recalls shooting a glance at the other end of the ice during warmup versus the '17-18 Kings and realizing the next 60 minutes wouldn't be easy.
"There's like 14 guys without a helmet," he laughed. "I was like, 'This is so intimidating.' I'm 19 years old and these guys have won Cups. They're huge. They have no helmets. They have no teeth. They just look so scary."
New CBA takes better care of alumni
The newly signed collective bargaining agreement includes a playoff salary cap, player-friendly dress code, mandatory neck protection, 84 regular-season games, and other headline-grabbing items. One element isn't getting a ton of attention but is extremely important: vastly improved health benefits for alumni.
The league and the players' association will contribute a combined $4 million annually to the Retired Players Emergency Healthcare and Wellness Fund. The program will help the NHL Alumni Association be more proactive, not reactive like it's been in the past when trying to help a member experiencing a health crisis.
"This is groundbreaking. This is Christmas Day for us," NHLAA executive director and former NHL goalie Glenn Healy said at the player media tour.
Among the benefits: players who have "played one shift or 10,000 games" will have access to a family doctor and mental health professional, Healy said.
One of Healy's favorite sayings is "short career, long life." Whatever's going on in retirement - health issue, tax issue, family issue - the association will help the ex-player, who probably didn't make millions of dollars, navigate it.
"It’s a unique brotherhood," Healy said.
Quick hits
Colorado's ceiling: The Avalanche were without impact forwards Artturi Lehkonen (injury) and Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) for the first month of 2024-25, while captain Gabriel Landeskog (career-threatening injury) didn't return to the lineup until the third game of the playoffs. Management also turned over a third of the roster midseason, most notably swapping superstar Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and draft picks. The chaos has subsided following a quiet offseason and normal training camp - "There's no question marks with anything," stud defenseman Cale Makar pointed out recently - so now we wait to see what this revamped, settled-in version of Colorado can accomplish. MacKinnon's suddenly 30 years old and Makar's already 26. The Avalanche have made the playoffs in eight straight seasons but advanced past the second round just once - in 2022, when they won the Cup.
Panthers' grind: It's tempting to pencil in Florida as a top-three team in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have been the NHL's alpha-dog franchise for the past few years and are running it back with roughly the same roster. But expectations around the regular season should be tempered. How about an Eastern Conference wild card? Think about it: The Panthers will not only be feeling the wear and tear of three straight trips to the Cup Final but also the effects of the Olympics. Matthew Tkachuk (USA), Sam Reinhart (Canada), Aleksander Barkov (Finland), Nico Sturm (Germany), and Uvis Balinskis (Latvia) have already been named to a roster. A handful of other Panthers are in contention for spots. And the whole group faces a stiff test before the break, as Florida plays 16 games - including 11 on the road! - from Jan. 5 to Feb. 6.
Future of the cap: After a decade of zero-to-limited year-over-year growth, the salary cap is trending up. It jumped from $87.7 million in 2024-25 to $95 million this season and is expected to increase to $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million in 2027-28. This is great for players. Behind the scenes, however, front offices are wondering when the have/have-not era will begin. The "haves" in this context are high-revenue clubs willing to spend to the upper limit no matter the number, while the "have-nots" are budget teams that will hit an internal ceiling sooner than later. One assistant general manager told theScore he's bracing for league dynamics to shift in 2027-28. He believes that will be the first season in which about a third of the league's ownership groups - including his own - will tell their respective front offices to get extra creative and frugal because they won't be able to spend to the cap.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).