Kapten Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby belum memulai pembahasan perpanjangan kontrak baru dengan General Manager Kyle Dubas menjelang musim terakhirnya di NHL karena sedang fokus membela Tim Nasional Kanada pada Kejuaraan Dunia Hoki Es 2026 di Swiss.
Spekulasi mengenai masa depan sang bintang mencuat setelah Pittsburgh Penguins tersingkir dari babak pertama playoff Stanley Cup usai kalah 1-0 melalui babak perpanjangan waktu pada Game 6 melawan rival se-negara bagian Philadelphia Flyers.
Pengamat internal Pittsburgh Penguins Josh Yohe mengonfirmasi situasi tersebut dalam sesi tanya jawab di media The Athletic ketika menjawab pertanyaan seorang penggemar mengenai status kontrak sang kapten yang tersisa satu tahun.
"No, it is not," tulis Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Yohe menambahkan bahwa situasi ini tidak perlu terlalu dikhawatirkan oleh para pendukung klub karena General Manager Kyle Dubas saat ini sedang sangat sibuk dan Crosby sendiri sedang berada di Swiss untuk mengikuti turnamen internasional.
"Also, keep in mind: Crosby said following the Penguins’ loss to the Flyers that, at this stage of his career, he’s taking things “year-to-year.”" lanjut Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Menurut Yohe, Crosby sangat menghindari gangguan fokus dalam bertanding dan kemungkinan besar akan menandatangani perpanjangan kontrak berdurasi satu tahun sebelum musim baru dimulai karena sang pemain tampak sangat bahagia pada musim lalu.
"Is a Sidney Crosby extension in the works? He has one year left." tanya @cgibson724, Penggemar Penguins.
Penundaan ini juga dipengaruhi oleh keputusan mendadak Crosby untuk bergabung dengan Tim Kanada setelah melewati musim yang panjang dan sempat mengalami cedera di Olimpiade.
"I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen," kata Brad Treliving, General Manager Tim Kanada.
Treliving menjelaskan bahwa sebelum Crosby bergabung, manajemen telah menunjuk pemain muda berusia 19 tahun Macklin Celebrini sebagai kapten tim, namun kehadiran Crosby memicu perdebatan mengenai siapa yang berhak menyematkan huruf "C" di jersey mereka.
"We named Mack captain before Sid agreed to participate," ujar Brad Treliving, General Manager Tim Kanada.
Crosby bersikeras agar Celebrini tetap menjadi kapten tim, sementara Celebrini juga menginginkan Crosby yang memimpin, menunjukkan rasa hormat yang tinggi di antara kedua penyerang berbakat tersebut.
"This goes to show you what Sid is all about. It’s not about him. Just watching him, you can see the respect he commands from the other players here. Sid took an issue and quickly made it a non-issue. He’s that kind of special guy and, until you see it in person, and watch him around people, you don’t know how special he is." tutur Brad Treliving, General Manager Tim Kanada.
Kehadiran kapten Penguins di Swiss juga disambut sangat antusias oleh para pemain veteran lainnya di dalam skuad Kanada.
"The players are all like little kids around him," ungkap Brad Treliving, General Manager Tim Kanada.
Kanada kini mencatatkan rekor 2-0 pada awal turnamen dengan Celebrini memimpin perolehan angka lewat tiga poin, sedangkan Crosby mencatatkan satu poin sekaligus menunjukkan performa bertahan yang solid.
"I’m in." kata Sidney Crosby, Kapten Pittsburgh Penguins.
Crosby sendiri sempat merefleksikan kekalahan tipis timnya di laga terakhir NHL musim ini sebelum berangkat ke Swiss.
"It’s unfortunate," kata Sidney Crosby, Kapten Pittsburgh Penguins.
Meskipun kalah di Game 6, Crosby menilai timnya telah bermain dengan baik dan memiliki peluang besar pada paruh kedua pertandingan untuk memaksakan terjadinya Game 7 di Pittsburgh.
"I thought, especially the second half of that game, we had some really good looks. We’re a shot away from going back to Pittsburgh for Game 7. So, it just comes down to bounces sometimes. Putting yourself in that position is tough, but I think we all had a lot of belief that we can dig ourselves out of it." pungkas Sidney Crosby, Kapten Pittsburgh Penguins.
Di sisi lain, pertanyaan dari pendukung Penguins juga mengarah pada skenario masa depan jika Crosby memutuskan pensiun setelah pertandingan terakhir melawan Philadelphia Flyers.
"Hypothetical situation: It’s Crosby’s final season, whenever that is. His final game is in Philadelphia. What kind of reception does he get?" tanya @PensFan1977, Penggemar Penguins.
Yohe merespons pertanyaan hipotesis tersebut dengan keyakinan bahwa publik Philadelphia akan memberikan penghormatan terakhir yang meriah bagi sang rival.
"This is a very funny question. Silly as it sounds, I think the citizens of the eastern side of the commonwealth will rise as one and give him a standing ovation when he last plays a game in Philly. I know, I know, you can’t imagine it happening. They did it for Mario Lemieux when he was retiring in 1997. I think they’ll do it for Sid, maybe not so much because they like him in any way, but more as a way of saying thank you for being the person they could freely hate with such passion for more than two decades." jawab Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Selain masalah kontrak Crosby, pendukung juga menyoroti kebutuhan perbaikan lini pertahanan Penguins pada sektor kanan untuk musim depan.
"How do you fix the defense?" tanya @letangcult, Penggemar Penguins.
Yohe menilai manajemen Penguins perlu mendatangkan pemain baru berkualitas pada barisan pertahanan kedua dan ketiga mereka demi menjaga stabilitas tim.
"I don’t make enough money to answer this question properly. But the Penguins really, really need to upgrade on the right side of their second and third defensive pairings. That would go a long way. There simply isn’t a culture of playing defense in Pittsburgh. It’s never going to be a priority, but better players on the blue line would help." jelas Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Kekhawatiran juga muncul mengenai daya tarik bisnis dan kehadiran penonton di stadion jika Penguins tidak lagi diperkuat oleh talenta generasi emas seperti Crosby atau Evgeni Malkin yang kontraknya habis per 1 Juli.
"I don’t think the fan base is ready for a Penguins roster without any “generational” talent. Since 1984, we’ve had Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the roster for all but a few years. Thoughts?" tanya @TheConfluence, Penggemar Penguins.
Menanggapi hal itu, Yohe membenarkan bahwa manajemen klub di bawah Kyle Dubas harus segera mencari bintang muda baru untuk mengamankan tingkat penjualan tiket pertandingan.
"From a business standpoint, it’s a real concern. I’m literally not employed without Penguins fans, so I’m not intending to insult anyone by saying this, but Penguins fans are an extraordinarily spoiled bunch, historically speaking. Think about the names you mentioned, and you didn’t even include Ron Francis, Phil Kessel, Alex Kovalev, Mark Recchi, Kevin Stevens, Paul Coffey, Kris Letang or Marc-Andre Fleury. How lucky we have been. I think it would behoove Dubas to find a legitimate, young star by any means necessary. Otherwise, I suspect attendance could be a problem. It’s a wonderful hockey town, but it expects to be entertained at all times." urai Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Mengenai rotasi pemain bawah, terdapat prediksi bahwa Avery Hayes akan masuk ke dalam skuad utama menggantikan posisi Noel Acciari di lini keempat pada musim depan.
"Do you think Avery Hayes replaces Noel Acciari on the fourth line next year?" tanya @elasdaddy, Penggemar Penguins.
Yohe menyetujui kemungkinan tersebut mengingat chemistry yang sangat baik antara Hayes dan Rutger McGroarty selama babak playoff AHL.
"I don’t want to make any guesses about line combinations at this point, but yes, I think Hayes will be on the team and I don’t think Acciari will be. If you’re paying attention to the AHL playoffs, you’re highly aware that Rutger McGroarty and Hayes have great chemistry. Keep this in mind." papar Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Nama penyerang Mason Marchment yang berstatus bebas agen pada musim panas ini juga diprediksi kuat akan dikaitkan dengan kepindahan menuju Pittsburgh Penguins karena kedekatan historisnya dengan Dubas.
"Kyle Dubas has said on the record that trading Mason Marchment was his biggest blunder ever. He’s a UFA this summer. What are the chances Dubas signs him?" tanya @tyfone, Penggemar Penguins.
Yohe melihat Marchment sebagai salah satu dari sedikit pemain bebas agen yang paling masuk akal untuk didatangkan oleh kubu Penguins.
"He would seem to check a lot of boxes. Marchment is big, isn’t too old and has a history with Dubas. I believe this is a name that you’ll hear linked to the Penguins quite a bit this summer. He’s one of the few free agents I think make sense in Pittsburgh." terang Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Terakhir, mengenai strategi draf pemain pada bulan Juni mendatang, Dubas diperkirakan akan mencoba melakukan pertukaran aset untuk menembus posisi pemilihan 5 besar atau 10 besar demi mengamankan bintang muda potensial.
"Pretty deep draft coming up in June. Pens played themselves out of the top-16 picks. I see a trade coming to move up to the top-5 or even top 10. Do you? Bryan Rust would look good in a Sharks uniform." tanya @77davet, Penggemar Penguins.
Yohe memperkirakan pergerakan aktif dari Dubas yang memiliki banyak hak pilih untuk digunakan sebagai alat tukar naik posisi draf.
"Well, I don’t know about Rust going to the Sharks, though he would look good on that roster. What I expect is for Dubas to attempt to trade up. It’s a great draft; he wants to find a young star, and he has many draft picks to use in trades. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t try to slide up the board." ungkap Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Pencapaian menembus babak playoff musim ini dinilai sedikit mengubah rencana jangka panjang klub dalam mengumpulkan aset masa depan melalui penjualan pemain sebelum tenggat waktu transfer.
"How much did making the playoffs set back Dubas’ plan? I would imagine if we were a fringe team, we would have sold Anthony Mantha for a first-round pick, Stuart Skinner for a second-round pick and maybe a few others." tanya @LovemyjobLLC, Penggemar Penguins.
Namun, Yohe menganggap keputusan mempertahankan para pemain senior untuk bersaing di playoff merupakan langkah yang tepat dari manajemen.
"I suppose it set them back a bit, but only a bit. He could have made bigger moves before the deadline, but chose not to because he didn’t want to give up much of the future. It was the proper move to let the big guys have a chance at playoff glory and a dramatic, final run. Trading Mantha, for instance, would have been a slap in their faces. It simply didn’t conclude the way anyone in Pittsburgh would have liked." tutup Josh Yohe, Jurnalis The Athletic.
Adapun prospek muda Harrison Brunicke dinilai masih berada dalam jalur perkembangan yang baik untuk menembus level kompetisi NHL di masa depan.
"Can I get a temperature check on Harrison Brunicke? Do we still believe he’s an NHL talent or an AHL lifer?" tanya @LightThaLamp, Penggemar Penguins.
