NHL Trade Rumors: Insider speaks on possibility of Sidney Crosby's trade from Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman recently spoke about the possibility of Sidney Crosby being traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Pens have some aging players, including Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, and trading Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes was a signal that they were considering a rebuild.

On the "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman revisited the Guenztel trade and shared his insights on the roadmap for the Penguins moving forward:

"It's just unbelievable to see them wave the white flag this week. Jake Guentzel gets traded as you said they get blown out like that. This is the first time in Crosby's career that the Pittsburgh Penguins are going backward seventeen and a half years, the team is always going forward."

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a lot of success over the years. However, Friedman reckons that this is the first time that the club is going backward.

"They won a Stanley Cup three years after he was drafted. They continued to push forward and won two more even after they started to fall. They kept on adding they never stopped adding. And now for the first time ever, the organization has waved the white flag of surrender and I think it hit Crosby and some of those other players who have been around for a long time."

Friedman also ruled out the possibility of Crosby's trade. However, the insider acknowledged that he could be proven wrong because the team is going through a rebuild now.

"I just don't see him going anywhere, I definitely didn't see it at the deadline & I don't see it going anywhere this summer. I could totally be proven to be wrong, because now instead of it (rebuild) being conceptual, it's actually happening."

Sidney Crosby has one year remaining on his contract with an AAV of $8.7 million. Meanwhile, the other veteran members of the core group, consisting of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, signed through a $6 million AAV contract, with Rust and Letang having a no-movement trade clause.

Sidney Crosby and Penguins heading for another year without playoff hockey

Pittsburgh Penguins v Boston Bruins

With 19 games remaining, the Penguins are on track to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. This will be the first time Sidney Crosby has missed the postseason in consecutive seasons.

The Pens have lost their last three games by huge margins. Overall, they are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. The club is seventh in the Metro Division with 64 points and 18 points off the second wild card in the East.

Crosby and the Penguins take on the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.