NHL insider pits Sidney Crosby's loyalty towards Penguins against his competitive spirit to decide his NHL future

NHL insider Jeff Marek believes Sidney Crosby's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins will eventually be a battle between his loyalty to the team and his competitive spirit.

Crosby, who was selected first overall in 2005, has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. Now 37, he has two years on his contract at a $8.7 million cap hit.

However, after finishing second-last in the Metropolitan Division last season, the Penguins appear headed towards a rebuild, which has led to speculation that Crosby could be traded to a contender to chase another Stanley Cup before retirement.

When asked if it could be Crosby's last season in Pittsburgh, Marek said he doesn't know the answer but framed it as a struggle between Crosby's renowned loyalty and competitiveness.

"What you're going to see is a test and you're going to see a struggle between two things that live inside of Sidney Crosby," Marek said on the Sekeres & Price podcast. (18:02)

Marek pointed to Crosby's standout performance for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off event as evidence of his competitiveness:

What's going to win out here? His competitive streak or his loyalty? Because it's going to be one or the other because there's not going to be a postseason for the Pittsburgh Penguins."

In Marek's view, Crosby can't have the best of both worlds in Pittsburgh right now. The impending rebuild means the team won't be a playoff threat, conflicting with Crosby's fierce competitive nature.

Eventually, Marek sees Crosby's future coming down to whether his devotion to the Penguins outweighs his drive to win one more Stanley Cup.

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Matthew Sekeres compares Sidney Crosby situation with Brad Marchand's

Brad Marchand has long been loyal to the Boston Bruins, but when contract extension talks fell through, he was dealt to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline in March.

The move paid off, as Marchand went on to win his second Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season.

“And he just watched Brad Marchand. He knows Brad very well too. He just watched Brad Marchand rent himself out and get another cup. He had to have seen that and gone, "Oh, that looked pretty fun," Matthew Sekeres said. (18:45 onwards)

It remains to be seen whether Sidney Crosby takes Marchand's path.