$2,500,000 longtime teammate makes his feelings known on Sidney Crosby possibly leaving Penguins to chase another Stanley Cup

Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury were teammates for 12 seasons on the Pittsburgh Penguins. They had tremendous success together, winning three Stanley Cups and building a great friendship.

On Friday's episode of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast," with Sportsnet's NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Fleury was asked whether he'd ever want to see Crosby leave Pittsburgh to chase a Stanley Cup somewhere else.

"It's not like the Penguins are fighting for the cup right now," Fleury responded. "He's such a winner, he has it inside of him. It'd be weird, but I kind of wish him to find a place where he can keep playing his best and keep chasing another Stanley Cup."

Fleury, the first overall pick in 2003, thought he'd spend his whole career in Pittsburgh, but that wasn't the case. All signs point to the 40-year-old retiring at the season's end as he finishes out a one-year, $2,500,000 contract with the Minnesota Wild.

Sidney Crosby remains a force at 37 years old

At 37 years old, Sidney Crosby is not aging like normal athletes.

The Penguins captain continues to dominate and remains one of the best players in the league. He's having another strong season, with 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists) in 55 games, and is on track for his 20th consecutive season averaging over a point per game. This would surpass Wayne Gretzky (19) for the most seasons averaging over a point per game in NHL history.

Despite that, Pittsburgh is on pace to miss the playoffs for the third straight campaign. This has fans wondering, will we see Sidney Crosby competing in the Stanley Cup playoffs again? The hockey world certainly hopes so.

Crosby is nursing an upper-body injury, so fans are anxiously waiting to hear if he will be available for Team Canada's opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Sweden on Wednesday. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at the Bell Centre in Montreal.