Friday Insider: World Cup or Olympics? Shouldn't be either/or taken at PPG Paints Arena (Courtesy of Point Park University)

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Given the choice of playing in the Olympics or the World Cup of Hockey, it's no debate.

Sidney Crosby and Jack Johnson, two past Olympians and participants in the 2016 World Cup, said they'll take the Winter Games every time.

However, both consider the World Cup an "honor" and an "awesome" experience.

But why the Olympics? They gave identical answers.

"Because it's the Olympics," they said.

"The World Cup was a great experience, but when you think about the Olympics and the history there and what it means, not just for hockey but all sports, it's pretty unique," Crosby told DKPittsburghSports.com this week.

However, it really shouldn't have to be an either/or proposition.

One of the more interesting tidbits to come out of this week's Board of Governors meetings in Sea Island, Ga., was the fate of the World Cup of Hockey. Basically, its future is still up in the air.

The league said it has informed the NHL Players' Association that it needs to know by next month if the WCH is a go.

"They know the timeframe," Gary Bettman told reporters. "So the puck's in their end."

The on-again, (but mostly) off-again international tournament is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2020. That is the same time that the NHL's collective bargaining agreement can expire. The current 10-year CBA runs through Sept. 15, 2022, but the league and the union both hold the right to opt out two years prior.

Bettman is seeking an agreement that neither side will opt out in 2020.

Reportedly, the sticking point for the NHLPA is the go-ahead to allow its members to participate in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing after the league denied players that opportunity last winter in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The NHL claimed it didn't see the benefit of closing down its regular season for a few weeks while games were being held in time zones that weren't advantageous for North American viewers. Obviously, with the games being held in China, that would still be an issue.

"The Olympics are a special thing,"said Crosby, who says he did follow Team Canada last February. "Depending on where it is, there's more opportunity to see it in other places. That's just the way it is. It could be anywhere in the world, right?"

So, it should be an easy negotiation that allows the best of both worlds: The players agree to the World Cup, the league agrees to return to the Olympics, right?

If only it were that simple. Remember these two sides have had three lockouts during Bettman's quarter-century reign.

But if it is World Cup-only, both Crosby and Johnson would prefer a best-on-best, regardless of age. The 2016 tournament had a Team North America (which featured Americans and Canadians under the age of 23) and a Team World (which had a mish-mash of smaller hockey-playing nations).

After finishing a disappointing seventh in '16, the Americans could ice an exciting young team with Auston Matthews, Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, the Tkachuk brothers and many more.

Johnson, who has represented Team USA more than anyone, earning the nickname Captain America, says watching the Americans win in the '96 World Cup was a seminal moment in his life.

"That was my goal -- to be Brian Leetch and Chris Chelios," he told me. "That was the first time I really comprehended who those guys were. The World Cup has a special place.

"I would hope the next wave of guys would have the same opportunities I've had. They're once in a lifetime opportunities."

That's opportunities, plural.

MORE PENGUINS

• You better believe Jim Rutherford and general managers throughout the NHL were keeping close tabs on the William Nylander saga that played out in Toronto last Saturday when the Maple Leafs signed the 22-year-old to a six-year, $45 million contract extension at the 11th hour. Had they not put pen to paper by 5 p.m., Nylander -- a restricted free agent after his three-year entry-level contract had expired -- would have been ineligible to play this season. Nylander had been holding out in Europe in hopes of the long-term contract he eventually received at a price that would fit in with Leafs GM Kyle Dubas' plans to keep his talented young core intact -- negotiations with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are up next. With a plethora of RFAs coming up this summer, most notably Matthews, Marner and Tampa's Brayden Point, there is speculation this might be the year that GMs will get aggressive in handing out offer sheets to RFAs. That remains to be seen, but Nylander has certainly set the bar high for young players and what they can command. Nylander has posted 61 points in each of the last two seasons. Jake Guentzel has never topped more than 48 but he's on pace to smash that this season and his playoff scoring prowess far exceeds all others. And, yes, Guentzel will be an RFA too. If Nylander can get $6.96 million from Toronto and Bryan Rust can get $3.5 million from the Penguins, suffice to say Guentzel is about to get paid handsomely. The good news for Rutherford is Bettman announced during last week's Board of Governers’ meeting the salary cap is projected to increase $3.5 million to $83 million. --Bradford

• When the Penguins acquired Derick Brassard from the Senators last February, it came with the caveat that the Knights would be picking up 40 percent of the center's $5 million annual salary. Vegas was willing to pony up in order to prevent Brassard from landing with the Jets, the prohibitive favorites in the Western Conference last season. The move paid off as the Knights swept the Brassard-less Jets in the conference final. Well, now that he is back on the block, look for the Jets to make another play for Brassard, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The Jets could use some center depth and they would have the added bonus of acquiring Brassard and have the surging Knights pick up a part of his remaining contract. Talk about win-win. -- Bradford

• News I wrote this week that Tristan Jarry has taken over Matt Murray's stall in the Penguins' dressing room sent more than a few emails my way expressing outrage the franchise goalie could be treated so shabbily. Relax, folks. This is not the NFL and this wasn't Bud Dupree ransacking Le'Veon Bell's stall. For those not in the know, NHL teams have one dressing room for equipment and a "change room" for players to change into street clothes that is off-limits to the media. The Penguins' dressing rooms at PPG Paints Arena and the Lemieux Sports Complex are identical, horseshoe-shaped rooms with the two goalies occupying the two, wider stalls at each end. When Murray resumed skating this week his gear was moved to a vacant stall near the center. The move was made simply to allow Jarry more room while Murray is out. -- Bradford

STEELERS

When long-snapper Kameron Canaday suffered a Grade-2 sprain of his knee early in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's 33-30 loss to the Chargers, the Steelers went into scramble mode.

It was time to prepare the backup, tight end Vance McDonald, for action.

McDonald, a six-year veteran, gets some work in once a week or so snapping with punter Jordan Berry and placekicker Chris Boswell. But game experience? That hasn’t happened.

"Last game I did was senior year (at Rice), we were playing at UTEP to win the western conference," McDonald told me this week. "I went and snapped twice. It was on the money. I did good."

That doesn't mean, however, the Steelers' starting tight end was entirely comfortable with the potential of getting an opportunity to snap in an NFL game.

As the team's trainers worked furiously to get Canaday fitted with a knee brace that would allow him to go back on the field, the Steelers' offense was going three-and-out after the kick on which he was injured resulted in a 73-yard punt return.

Berry was working with McDonald on the sideline to get him ready.

"The first one, he ripped an absolute cannon at me," Berry said with a laugh. "I had to tell him to slow it down a bit and make sure he hit the target. For a backup, I’m 100 percent confident in him. He’s very competent." -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex

• There's some belief in the Steelers' locker room they were the victim of the league not wanting a blowout on a Sunday night game in their 33-30 loss to the Chargers. One veteran told me anonymously -- to avoid being fined -- that at the team's film session Monday, the game officials ignoring some penalties and calling a couple of big ones -- the holding penalties on Ramon Foster and Alejandro Villanueva -- were among those discussed. The call against Foster, in particular, was troubling to the Steelers because: A. They didn’t  think it was a hold; and B, they felt  it was far enough away from the direction of the play that it wouldn't have mattered even if it was. -- Lolley

• The Steelers aren't about to give up on rookie receiver James Washington. In fact, if anything, they're intent on getting him kickstarted. First came a private meeting last Saturday night with Ben Roethlisberger the rookie said he truly appreciated. Then, on Thursday Roethlisberger repeatedly targeted Washington throughout practice -- the quarterback's first of the week. One source told me Washington caught 13 passes from Roethlisberger over the course of the game-planning for Sunday's game in Oakland. And that wasn't an accident. As offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner noted afterward, "We need him." -- Lolley

PIRATES

• According to Clint Hurdle, all five players recovering from surgeries have not suffered any setbacks in their rehabs. The list includes Chris Archer (bilateral hernia), Chad Kuhl (Tommy John elbow ligament replacement), Joe Musgrove (stress reaction in pelvic bone/torn abdominal muscle), Gregory Polanco (torn labrum in left shoulder) and Edgar Santana (Tommy John). Archer and Musgrove are on course to begin spring training without restrictions while Polanco could be out until June, and Kuhl and Santana will miss next season. -- John Perrotto

Reliever Michael Feliz signed a split one-year contract last Friday in which he will make $850,000 in the major leagues and $375,000 in the minor leagues. The Pirates played hardball with Feliz, threatening to not tender him a contract if he did not agree to terms. While Feliz would have become a free agent if he didn’t sign, he also would have likely had a difficult time getting another team to exceed the Pirates’ offer after posting a 5.66 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 47 games this year. -- Perrotto

• Ivan Nova’s three-year, $26-million contract expires at the end of next season and he is already positioning himself for free agency by switching agencies from Legacy to Wasserman. How much that affects potential talks with the Pirates is debatable. The Pirates are likely to move on from Nova following the 2019 season and could even trade him long before then. -- Perrotto

PITT

• Recruiting time is in full swing with the Panthers on a break before Sun Bowl practices begin. Pat Narduzzi was in Florida this week, along with linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator Rob Harley, and the two visited Pitt-commit Jared Wayne, the wide receiver from Canada by way of Florida’s Clearwater Academy, as well as uncommitted tight end target Brett Seither, a 6-foot-5 Maryland native now playing at Clearwater Central Catholic. Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson stayed close to home and visited Farrell’s Kyi Wright. A couple days after the visit, Wright, who committed to Pitt as a linebacker, quarterbacked his high school team to a Pennsylvania Class A state title Thursday. — Matt Grubba

Jeff Capel also is on the recruiting trail, as he and his staff wrapped up practice around 3 p.m. Thursday, in time to make the trip to Flint Hill School in Northern Virginia, where four-star center Qudus Wahab and his team were facing St. James of Hagerstown, Md. Wahab has said he will announce his college decision next Thursday, and Pitt, where he visited last month, is trying to remain in the mix with Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Georgetown and Connecticut, the other four schools where he took official visits. — Grubba

HOUNDS

• A couple days after the Hounds announced the sale of Christiano François to the Ottawa Fury, Bob Lilley spoke a little about the transfer. “Christiano was certainly a strong player for us last year, and I think he’s a quality player in our league. It’s never easy to let that type of player go with that talent, but offensively, we want to be able to change certain dynamics of how we play. So you have to invest money in your roster and have the ability to make upgrades sometimes. The combination of freeing up his salary, as well as the money brought in from Ottawa, gives us more flexibility to go out and sign different types of attacking players.” As exciting as François could be, he finished with just four goals and five assists on the season for a team that finished tied for 14th in USL with 47 goals, 25 behind league-leading Cincinnati. — Grubba

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