After Nathan MacKinnon, NHL insider clears the air on Sidney Crosby to Colorado Avalanche ‘wild’ buzz

The hockey world was buzzing on social media about a potential Sidney Crosby trade over the weekend.

Former NHLer Georges Laraque started the firestorm with a post on X saying that he's heard the chances of Crosby playing somewhere other than Pittsburgh are very good.

That was then followed up by a post from NHL insider Kevin Weekes, which showed an image of Denver, Colorado, with the eyeballs emoji. Spittin' Chiclets caught on and started re-sharing it all, creating chaos as the draft was ongoing.

A trade obviously never came to fruition, and on Sunday, Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke down what he knows about Sidney Crosby and his situation with the Penguins during the recent episode of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast." He shared the link to the podcast on X (formerly Twitter).

"Then, there were the Sidney Crosby rumors on Friday night—wild stuff. Colorado cleared cap space with the deal that sent Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle to Columbus, which definitely raised eyebrows," Friedman said (30:00).

"There was some strong pushback, including from Nate MacKinnon on Instagram. Still, this is probably just the world. I even caught myself sending texts that said, 'I can’t believe I’m writing this, but is there any truth to it?'

"The truth is, with the direction Pittsburgh is heading, tearing it all down, there are always going to be whispers about Crosby potentially going to a contender.

"Whether it’s a true Cup threat like Colorado or an up-and-coming team like Montreal, people want to see him in the playoffs again. We’re going to keep hearing it, whether we like it or not. But for the record, I don’t believe it was true this past weekend," Friedman added.

Crosby's two-year, $17,400,000 contract extension signed with the Penguins in 2024 will kick in to begin the 2025-26 season.

Nathan MacKinnon shut down the Sidney Crosby rumors on draft night

While everyone was buzzing about the Sidney Crosby rumors, Nathan MacKinnon took to social media and provided everyone with the truth.

MacKinnon took to Instagram, commenting "Fake news" on a Spittin' Chiclets post sharing the rumor started by Georges Laraque. Bob Pompeani of KDKA TV shared a screenshot of it on X.

While many around the hockey world are pushing for Crosby to join his good friend MacKinnon in Colorado or his childhood team in Montreal, it appears as if the 37-year-old has no intentions of playing anywhere other than Pittsburgh.