Elliotte Friedman believes Nathan MacKinnon will try to lure Sidney Crosby to Avalanche during IIHF World Championship meet

Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby were teammates for Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off team. They are two of the best Canadian players right now, and they'll reunite this summer during the IIHF World Championships. It could spark something for the two of them.

Elliotte Friedman said Crosby and MacKinnon have been confirmed for Team Canada. He believes it will be a great recruiting chance for MacKinnon to get Crosby to join him.

The Colorado Avalanche star could have a really good starting point, according to Friedman, who said:

"The NHL needs you in the playoffs... You don't think MacKinnon is going to be all over Crosby saying, want to miss more years in the playoffs. Why don't you come to Colorado, play with me and we rule the league from the Western Conference? And when he isn't going to be saying it. He's just going to be staring at Crosby burning holes in his head."

Friedman noted that the Pittsburgh Penguins removed their coach, who wanted to win immediately, in favor of a rebuild, which he doubts Crosby will be interested in.

The NHL insider added:

"It's going to be like this the whole summer, first at the World Championships, and then when they get back to Nova Scotia, long summer for MacKinnon toward Crosby, those those health spreads. Now it's going to be, Nathan will be dragging Sid by the ankle. And I'm not even saying it as a joke. The kid is going to think about this all summer."

Crosby has not yet played for any other team than the Penguins.

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Sidney Crosby reveals why he wants to keep playing

Sidney Crosby is not going to take much time off this offseason. The Penguins didn't make the playoffs, and Crosby has already confirmed his commitment to the Canadian team this summer.

Sidney Crosby will suit up for Canada (Imagn)

He revealed that it's because he doesn't want to slow down for fear of it being difficult to start back up later. He said via The Athletic:

“Maybe I’ll get tired at some point. But when I go for a while without skating, I notice it. I don’t feel as good after long breaks, which is different from when I was younger.”

He'll join Nathan MacKinnon, who is still in shock from his team's Game 7 defeat to former teammate Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars.