Lose a superstar, gain a superstar.
That might be what Colorado Avalanche leader Nathan MacKinnon is thinking.
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After a first-round exit at the hands of former Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen, much soul-searching is happening in Denver. One person who might be on a different mission is MacKinnon.
It’s been reported that MacKinnon will play for Team Canada at the World Championships. And hockey insider Elliotte Friedman feels very sorry for one player who is going to be teammates with MacKinnon at that tournament.
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“You know who I feel the worst for?” Friedman said on the May 5th episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “Sidney Crosby. You know why? We found out Sunday that he’s going to play at the World Championships and so it MacKinnon.”
Friedman believes MacKinnon will have “revenge on the mind” all summer and that it’s a “powerful motivation.”
With revenge on the mind of MacKinnon, Friedman believes he’s going to be pulling out all of the stops in his recruitment of Sidney Crosby.
“You don’t think MacKinnon is going to be all over Crosby,” Friedman reasoned with his co-host.
Crosby just signed an extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins this past year. Why would he even think about leaving? Friedman believes the answer lies in a recent move by the Penguins organization.
Why MacKinnon Might Court Crosby To Join The Avalanche
“Pittsburgh just made a coaching change because Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan disagreed on the path from here,” Friedman revealed. “Sullivan wants to win sooner, Dubas sees more of a rebuild.”
Friedman sees this as the golden opportunity for MacKinnon to recruit Crosby.
“Do you want to miss more years in the playoffs?” Friedman believes MacKinnon’s pitch would be. “Why don’t you come to Colorado, play with me, and we rule the league from the Western Conference?”
“And when he isn’t saying it, he’s just going to be staring at Crosby, burning holes in his head.”
And Friedman doesn’t think the recruiting will stop there. In fact, he thinks its going to be a very long summer for Crosby.
“It’s going to be like this the whole summer, first at the World Championships and then when they get back to Nova Scotia.”
If there was a world where the Avalanche could acquire Crosby, he would certainly offset the loss of Rantanen.
Wilder things have happened before.
