Kyle Dubas' Bold Plan for Sidney Crosby's Future Might Surprise Penguins Fans

The clock is ticking in Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby has two years left under contract after this one, and that will take him to age 40.

Could he sign another deal at that point? Perhaps, but very few players play into their 40s, and even fewer play well at that age.

Crosby has shown little signs of slowing down this season at age 37 as he still leads the team in scoring with 66 points through 62 games, including 19 goals.

That being said, age can rear its ugly head quickly, so you never know when Crosby might start to fall off.

Regardless, Kyle Dubas is adamant that he is going to build a playoff contender around Crosby one last time before he retires so he can have one last crack at a fourth Stanley Cup with the Penguins.

Perhaps this is the real reason Dubas didn't trade Rickard Rakell today.

Perhaps he is holding onto hope that Rakell can genuinely be a part of the next Penguins team to make the playoffs.

Of course, Rakell is no spring chicken himself as he will be turning 32 later this year.

Still though, Rakell is having one of the best years of his career at age 31, so who knows what could happen?

It is a long way back to the playoffs though as the Penguins are currently last place in the Metro Division, nine points away from the final wild card spot.

It is very tough to turn a team around from last place in the division (currently 27th overall) to the playoffs. And not just the playoffs, but legitimate contender status.

We will see what Dubas can do this summer, but it will certainly be interesting to see if he actually follows up on this plan, or if he sticks to a more reasonable path.