TAMPA, Fla. -- Mike Sullivan said Monday afternoon that it's "unlikely" that Crosby plays on the Penguins' season-opening Florida road trip, with game in Tampa on Tuesday and one in Sunrise on Thursday.
Crosby said Monday that it might be a bit longer than that before he returns to the Penguins' lineup.
Crosby joined ESPN's Monday Night Football postgame show in a pre-recorded interview segment, and the first question he answered was about his anticipated timeline for a return.
"It's hard to say," he said. "But you know, hopefully a week or two. We'll see how things progress here, but I started to shoot and stickhandle a little bit, which has been nice. So it's coming. Hopefully yeah, I'd say a week or two."
That timeline would allow the Penguins to put Crosby on injured reserve, which lasts only seven days and opens up an extra roster spot for the team to use.
That extra roster spot is important, because the Penguins need it in order to not be short a forward when the season opens Tuesday against the Lightning.
The Penguins' season-opening roster includes 14 forwards. Among the 14 are Crosby, Evgeni Malkin -- who is sidelined until December -- and Jake Guentzel and Zach Aston-Reese, who are both medically cleared to skate with the team after contracting COVID-19 in camp, but have still been ruled out for Tuesday's game.
That leaves the Penguins with 10 healthy forwards, two shy of a full lineup Once the Penguins put Malkin on long-term injured reserve, it will open up a roster spot and the temporary cap relief needed to either sign Brian Boyle or recall Drew O'Connor, who was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a paper transaction on Monday. If Crosby is indeed expected to be out for at least seven more days like he said on ESPN, then the Penguins can put him on IR, and open up the second roster spot needed for the second of either Boyle or O'Connor.
If for whatever reason Crosby does not go on injured reserve, the alternative would likely be dressing one of Chad Ruhwedel or Mark Friedman as a forward, since the Penguins are carrying seven healthy defensemen, none of whom are exempt from waivers and could be swapped out for an extra forward by Tuesday's game.
MORE FROM THE INTERVIEW
• On how much longer he expects to play in the NHL: "I hope for a long time. We'll see. The game's not getting any slower, so speed's obviously a huge thing. That's such a huge factor. I'd love to play forever. We'll see how long I can play here. I'm hoping at least another four years."
• On Alex Ovechkin chasing Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record: "He's capable of doing it. You look at his numbers, you look at what he's done over the years, the way he's still playing. He's definitely right there. It'll be fun to watch here, to see how close he gets and if he does one day pass Wayne."
• On the Steelers' win Sunday: "They needed that one. Obviously a big win for them. We're always following them closely, we went to the home opener. It's fun to see them have success. I've been here for years that they've won. The city is behind them all the time."
• On what position he'd play in the NFL: "I don't know if I'd be great at it but I'd love to be a running back. It's not the easiest position in the world. To have the ball in your hands pretty often, it's a tough position. Those guys are tough as nails doing what they do."
The full interview can be seen here:
