The conflicting part of this is that if he goes free for all 30 teams, his choice is the Habs! Now sure, you naysayers and Leaf fanatics will contend that he says that now but he will go where the money and attention is as if Montreal cannot afford to pay a kid whose dream is to lace up the skates for them (similar to the Habs nabbing Beliveau). Oh he'll get more attention from the whole province of Quebec and the city of Montreal than most markets except Toronto. Sorry, but he'd be bigger news if he was on a Canadian team than if he was on any American team because up here we just seem to love kids like Crosby. Screw New York, they only latch on to whatever athlete is the hot topic at the moment!
But in three seperate interviews he and his agent have made it clear that if it came down to free agency, Montreal would be at the top of the list. As long as Gillette and Gainey go hard at him, he could end up a Hab. But IMO, the NHL won't and shouldn't let it come to this. In my heart of hearts, I want Crosby to become a Canadien but it's better for the NHL if he goes to a team that needs him to rebuild their franchise (but NYR are not one of those teams; I wouldn't mind seeing him go to one of the lower end teams but unfortunately all those loser squads seem to be in the same Eastern Conf. Montreal plays in giving me visions of him torturing his favourite team for years to come!).
