Ex-Pittsburgh Penguins Staff Receives Sidney Crosby’s Unexpected Help for New NHL Job

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, is currently at the center of a whirlwind of trade in the NHL. Yet, amid all the speculation and uncertainty about his future, the future Hall of Famer remains composed and cool as ice, and true to his character. Even with the spotlight fixed on him, Crosby hasn’t lost sight of what matters most: friendship. In a recent, unexpected yet deeply heartfelt gesture, Crosby stepped up to support a close friend within the Penguins circle. 

The Athletic‘s Aaron Portzline reported on July 15 that Paul DeFazio stood out among a field of candidates to join the Columbus Blue Jackets as head equipment manager. But he had one hell of a job reference, too. When Sidney Crosby calls on your behalf, people—in this case, Don Waddell and Rick Nash—tend to listen. Paul DeFazio had already worked with the Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby when he was in the organization as an assistant equipment manager from 2001 to 2013 before becoming the head equipment manager at Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The Columbus Blue Jackets made it official on Tuesday, naming Paul DeFazio as their equipment manager, thanks, in no small part, to a powerful referral from Sidney Crosby. The Penguins’ captain reached out directly to Rick Nash, Columbus’ director of hockey operations. Nash, in close collaboration with GM Don Waddell, likely saw the endorsement as more than just a friendly gesture. 

Nash recalled the incident when Crosby called him for Paul’s reference. “You’ve heard all of the talk through the years that was Sid’s guy, that he did everything for Sid, and that he kind of took Sid under his wing when he got to Pittsburgh,” Nash recalled. He continued, “When Sid called, I said, ‘What are you gonna do now if we take him?’” And Sid gave him a wholesome reply. Crosby said that he’d figure things out, and that he’d be elated to see DeFazio get the job.

Of course, the fact that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas also called Waddell helped his case, too. “(Dubas) called and said, ‘I don’t know where you are in the process, but our No. 2 guy has been very loyal to this organization and would really like a chance at the No. 1 job,” Waddell said.

But while Crosby is approaching other NHL teams for his colleagues’ jobs, it’s still not clear as to which team he plans to play for in the future.

The Sidney Crosby trade saga is far from its conclusion

In a recent episode of The Sheet podcast, ESPN‘s Greg Wyshynski suggested, “If the Penguins get off to the start that we assume they’re going to get off to…I think he moves on before the end of the season, that’s my prediction.” Translation? If the Penguins don’t put their best foot forward early on in the season, it’s ‘Bye-Bye Crosby’. But where could he go to?

Again, you need not look further than Wyshynski. “I’ve long believed he’ll end his career in Montreal; I always assumed if it wasn’t Pittsburgh, it was going to be Montreal, that’s kind of where I’m at with it; the Colorado thing is sort of like a pipedream,” Wyshynski had said earlier on The Sheet. But then again, Crosby’s close friend, Nathan MacKinnon is not impressed by the speculation.

When Spittin’ Chiclets shared a post by former NHLer Georges Laraque that who claimed Crosby could take his skills elsewhere, MacKinnon took it upon himself to quash the rumors, commenting “Fake news” under the post. Along with him, the Penguins’ GM, Kyle Dubas, said, “There’s no change at all to anything from our perspective.” He also added, “Everything that we’re doing is about bringing the team back to being a contending team, and our hope is to surely do that while Sid is a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s really all I can offer.” And lastly, Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, also confirmed that the trade talks swirling right now are “baseless.”

Crosby is currently playing under a 2-year, $17.4 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a deal he signed back in September 2024. Where do you think Crosby is going to play in the upcoming seasons? Let us know in the comments.