On Monday, we relayed a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report which claimed Sidney Crosby was looking for a seven-year deal -- perhaps even 10 years or longer -- in his next contract. His current contract expires in July 2013 and the Penguins are expected to begin negotiations with their franchise player sooner than later. The Tribune-Review report stated:
Crosby's camp is seeking a lengthy deal, one the Penguins anticipate being at least seven years in term - possibly 10 or more. Crosby has said he does not expect any problems working out a new contract to remain with the Penguins.
That statement was picked up by several sources beyond SBNation.com, including Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy blog and NBC Sports' ProHockeyTalk.
But since the story was originally published Monday, the Tribune-Review has removed the portion of the story quoted above. Here's the story on the Trib website versus a cached version via Google for comparison. The only mention of Crosby in the altered story reads:
Shero confirmed to Trib Total Media in December that signing Sidney Crosby to a new contract is the team's top priority this summer.
So what's the real story? Did Crosby ask for a seven-year deal in his next contract? Was it fabricated by the Tribune-Review? We've reached out to both the sports editor at the paper and Crosby's agent Pat Brisson for comment and will report back when we hear more.