Breaking Down Speculation: The Possibility of a Sidney Crosby Trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs

If you were to ask anyone, adding Sidney Crosby to your team feels like winning the lottery. Pittsburgh has reaped the benefits of the iconic Cole Harbour superstar as he has cemented himself as one of the greatest to ever do it.

But with Crosby getting older, and Pittsburgh stuck in the mud, could the legendary center be on the move? According to the Steve Dangle Podcast: Toronto has the pieces, even if it might hurt a bit.

During their Q&A segment on the most recent Steve Dangle Podcast, hosts Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake answered various fan questions regarding a whole bunch of topics.

One question asked if they would accept a trade of Crosby for Matthew Knies, Dennis Hildeby, and a first-round pick. This kicked off the speculation of what pieces could be used to swing Crosby over to Toronto:

Co-host Jesse Blake mentioned it being a bad trade, talking about how their wing strength is not strong enough to warrant bringing in Crosby:

After a lengthy discussion, there were a few packages that came about. Blake suggested the following trade:

This trade gets rid of both current and future prospects for the chance to have Crosby on the team. Losing your two best prospects in Minten and Cowan hurts, but for the chance to win and have arguably the greatest collection of centers in one lineup; it's hard to pass up.

It also solves Toronto's logjam at defense, and if they can bring in another proper shutdown defender, losing Rielly wouldn't hurt too much especially since he's having a down year, and would help eat some salary. Toronto also gives up a couple of firsts to sweeten the pot.

The second deal offered, is one where Toronto completely nukes their future prospect plans in favor of winning with Knies, Rielly and Crosby all together.

This trade makes a statement in regards to paying to win now and worrying about their future later. It's going to be hard to argue that any of the picks Pittsburgh receives turn into anything, and drafting is always a risk.

Kyle Dubas could use these picks in order to help bring some other assets to his team, and he acquires two highly prized draft picks with Minten NHL-ready.

Toronto would have to figure out the salary issues but for the chance to bring Crosby aboard; they surely have a plan to figure it out. It's not often you see the league's greatest player of the last 20 years potentially available, and when you do?

You send whatever you can to get your hands on him.