And it continues in the second round.
However, it was a completely different story for Pittsburgh Penguins fans, who saw their favorites miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-2006 season.
Despite a regular season with 91 points, Sidney Crosby's team missed the playoffs by a single ranking point, which has led to a lot of questioning within the organization.
On that note, as reported by Philippe Chênevert, from Habsolumentfan.com, a reputable journalist made a suggestion that is not unanimous among NHL hockey fans.
A major and surprising statement.
During a recent appearance on BPM Sports, the excellent Mathias Brunet questioned the Penguins' decision to have a core of players aged 35 and older, with the presence of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kristopher Letang, who will be 37 and 36 years old, respectively, at the start of the next season.
But Brunet went even further, suggesting that it might be time for the Penguins to trade number 87 while he still has an interesting value.
Wow! Trading Sid the Kid is quite a statement from the veteran journalist, and he even drew a parallel between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals regarding the future of a certain Alexander Ovechkin.
While it's true that both players are somewhat nearing the end of their careers, it would be quite surprising if either of them changed teams at this stage in their respective careers.
But just for fun, if you were the Penguins' General Manager, would you do it?
What is Crosby worth on the trade market?
To hear Mathias Brunet's segment on BPM Sports, click on this link.
POLL | ||
Do you believe it's time for the Penguins to trade Sidney Crosby? | ||
Yes, he's worth several first-round picks | 62 | 20.7 % |
No | 128 | 42.7 % |
Yes, but he's not worth that much | 110 | 36.7 % |
List of polls |