Given the shape and scope of the past few seasons, there’s a quasi-logical mental destination I can reach where Sidney Crosby doesn’t finish his NHL career with the Penguins. He’d experience competitive hockey again. As generous as any professional athlete ever with his time and attention, Crosby would leave the Penguins with a massive parting gift — a prospect haul setting them up for future success.

There’s also this important little nugget: It’s not what Crosby really wants, nor is it how this story should end. He wants to stay here, win again here, and it seems like that idea is starting to get lost in the (frequently Canadian media-concocted) speculative sauce.

Crosby has earned the right to have an opinion, even if he’s not the type of person who feels a need to express it publicly

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