The Penguins’ top hierarchy has been aware for several months of Pat Brisson’s frustration, really dating back to spring of 2024, with the Penguins direction and strong lean rebuilding plan. What really caught them off guard, though, was Brisson going public the way he did. They did not expect that and what has shaken the organization a bit has been Sidney Crosby’s comments in kind of playing the speculation up during his media tour. It wasn’t just Crosby saying “a team like that wants you, it’s not the end of the world,” when asked about the Montreal Canadiens. What hit home with team officials was the tone of Crosby essentially saying losing 6-1 games to now 3-1 doesn’t mean you’re more competitive and the tone that the frustration of losing and missing the playoffs is starting to hit home.

The Crosby camp has put the organization on notice, particularly Kyle Dubas. This is a power move directed squarely at Dubas, multiple sources say, and in the short-term it’s worked in essentially halting To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! NHL executives also believe this was Brisson sending a message to potential teams, this is no longer a fantasy and if things don’t improve in Pittsburgh, this could become a reality after the Olympics.

As one NHL executive said to me, being the General Manager and having Sidney Crosby leave on your watch, is going to be a stain on Kyle Dubas’s resume for the rest of his career. Then you got the pending new ownership group and how it has suddenly become an uneasy situation fueled by Brisson and a little bit by Crosby this week.

Crosby last summer accepted 2024-2025 essentially being a punt a year and it saw him ink a two-year extension despite great frustrations from To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

This offseason has been a domino effect. Dubas knew pushing Mike Sullivan out wasn’t going to sit well and going the route he did in hiring Dan Muse in sending a clear rebuild signal wasn’t going to win over the Crosby camp. They were hopeful of a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! indications are he was a favorite of Crosby’s close inner circle. Then you had the internal push from Dubas and his cohorts to try to trade Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell but it didn’t end there. Crosby will never act like a LeBron James type and influence personnel moves, but like he should, he puts his opinion out there from time to time. Jack To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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