Players talk. Maybe not in front of the camera or in front of a throng of reporters, but they talk amongst themselves.
Some of it is wonky — stick flexes and knob tapings and the like. Some of it is goofy — the usual jabs in the ribs after a post-practice skill game. But some of it is the same stuff that we’re talking about on podcasts, that you’re talking about at the bar, that the whole hockey world is talking about anywhere and everywhere.
Contract extensions. Trade bait. Olympic rosters. Stanley Cup contenders. A ridiculous goal someone across the continent scored the other night. A historic moment from a hated but respected rival.
So every year, The Athletic’s hockey writers grant players the anonymity to weigh in without fear or favor on the hottest topics around the league. This time around, 120 NHL players took our poll. We asked which seemingly unbreakable record will fall next, how online the players are, whether state income taxes really make a difference and, of course, which player has the most punchable face.
But first, we start with two of the biggest names in the sport, and the most fascinating question of all: Where will Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby play next?
Note: Some player quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Not every player surveyed answered every question.
The rising salary cap is great for players and less great for hot-stove talk, as player movement seems to be nearing an all-time low in the cap era. So even though McDavid’s decision to sign just a two-year contract extension — essentially telling the Edmonton Oilers to prove they can build a true winner before he commits long term — most players don’t think he’s going anywhere.
“I think him taking another two years in Edmonton really showed that he wants to win there,” one player said. “I could see him staying around. He’s been there so long now. … I think it all kind of depends on how these next two years go, but I can see him sticking around.”
“I think this is kind of a prove-it for the GM and ownership,” another said. “I think if they can be competitive and build a good team around him, there’s no reason he doesn’t sign for around the same, even with the cap going up, and just try and keep staying there and winning a Cup.”
“I get the vibe that McDavid, he just wants to win there,” said another. “I think that will be a badge of honor for him.”
Others agreed:
“He can’t really leave.”
“For the game of hockey, hopefully he stays there and does his thing.”
“He loves it there, and they want him for the long term.”
“They have some kinks to work out, but I think he’s going to stay there.”
Still, more than 43 percent of respondents picked somewhere other than Edmonton.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were the second most popular pick, at 10 percent of the vote.
“I think he’s going to find his way home,” said one player, who doesn’t play for the Leafs.
“For better or for worse … ” another added.
The New York Rangers have long been rumored as a possibility and received 8.2 percent of the vote.
“I just have a feeling,” one player said in predicting McDavid to Broadway.
Shortly after Edmonton was throttled 9-1 by the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 8, one player declared: “McDavid’s out. I think he might go to Vegas? No. Dallas? No. I’m going to say New York Rangers.”
Or maybe he’d follow Wayne Gretzky’s path from Edmonton to Los Angeles?
One player, who doesn’t play for the Los Angeles Kings, said that’s the pick: “Unfortunately, there’s going to be a lot of frustrated Edmontonians, but I think he’ll be in L.A. or Anaheim. There’s no chance he stays. That deal was the perfect PR and then I’m out of here.”
“I think he rejoins Ken Holland (in Los Angeles),” another non-Kings player agreed. “It makes sense. (Anže) Kopitar is on his way out, (Quinton) Byfield is there … “
Other potential picks?
“I’ll go with Tampa,” one player said. “I don’t think Florida can afford him, so Tampa.”
“Jon Cooper’s going to find a way to get him,” a non-Lightning player agreed.
“If it’s not Edmonton, hopefully it’s here,” one Minnesota Wild player said. “I think he’ll stay in Edmonton. If he agrees with what they do, he’ll stay. Definitely if they win.”
One player, who does not play for the Seattle Kraken, picked them: “They’ll have the space. Somewhere different.”
Or the Chicago Blackhawks? “It depends on many things,” said a player who picked them. “The way it’s going now, I think he might go.”
Buffalo Sabres? “He has a hero complex,” one player said.
Anaheim Ducks? “Hopefully Anaheim. That’s my answer.”
“Expansion team,” another said.
Or just … somewhere else.
“If they don’t win the Stanley Cup, he’s going to play on a different team,” one player said. “Probably whoever is the Stanley Cup contender at the time.”
“Somewhere that’s not Canada,” said another.
The idea of Crosby in a Canadiens sweater is as mind-boggling as it is tantalizing, but nearly three-quarters of those who responded think he’s sticking around. Pittsburgh’s surprisingly strong start to the season certainly helped.
For the record, every Penguins player polled answered Pittsburgh, though none provided a quote on it.
“He’s been a Penguin for all his career,” one non-Penguin said. “Riding it out and playing all his years there, that would be a special moment for him.”
“I think he’s a pretty loyal (guy) and seems like a guy who’s going to spend his whole career in one place,” said another. “There’s also been greats who move on and play in other spots, but just the way he comes off and presents himself, he seems like a guy who’s going to be in the same spot forever. And there’s the superstitions, too. He seems like a pretty superstitious guy.”
Others said the same.
“I think Crosby is a Pen for life. I can’t see him anywhere else.”
“I think he’s extremely loyal.”
“I think he finishes (his career) off in Pittsburgh.”
“And he’ll probably score 100 points again. That seems like his going rate.”
“They’re not going to let him walk. They’d lose too many fans.”
“I think he’s done it all. And he just likes Pittsburgh. I know they’re not as close as some other teams, but I think he’s really comfortable there. And he wants to be like Mario (Lemieux) and finish his career there.”
“The way Pittsburgh’s playing and with a couple of the prospects they have, I think he’ll stay in Pittsburgh. If he wants to come to (my team), he should feel free to.”
Montreal and Colorado have always been bandied about as potential late-career destinations for Crosby, and some players are believers.
“If you grow up in Eastern Canada, you grow up a Habs fan, right? Just seems like Montreal would be an option,” one player said.
“I don’t think Crosby will ever leave,” another said. “But it would be Montreal if he did.”
“That’s been a rumor in Canada for a year now,” added another.
And why the Avalanche?
“To play with (Nathan) MacKinnon,” one player said, referring to a longtime friendship between the two.
One player who answered Avalanche said wherever it is, he just hopes “it’s a contender.”
“If it’s Pittsburgh, that’s still cool,” he said. “But he’s so many players’ favorite player growing up, I don’t want to see him die on the hill just because he wants to play with one franchise. I think it would be cool late in his career to see him go on another run.”
Reporting for this story by Murat Ates, Arpon Basu, Peter Baugh, Max Bultman, Harman Dayal, Thomas Drance, Matthew Fairburn, Jesse Granger, Joshua Kloke, Kevin Kurz, Mark Lazerus, Julian McKenzie, Vincent Z. Mercogliano, Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Aaron Portzline, Scott Powers, Michael Russo, Jeremy Rutherford, Fluto Shinzawa, Jonas Siegel, Joe Smith, Eric Stephens and Josh Yohe.
Written by Mark Lazerus.
