NHL insider speculates how Sidney Crosby's 4 Nations Face-off performance could impact potential trade

Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby was questionable to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off because of an upper-body injury. He made the last-minute call that he was healthy enough to suit up and represent his country, and so far, so good.

The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar racked up three assists and was a +1 rating in 17:10 of ice time in Canada's 4-3 overtime win over Sweden. He was named the No. 1 star of the game, as "Crosby" chants echoed throughout the Bell Centre.

Sidney Crosby played on a line with fellow Nova Scotia native and good friend Nathan MacKinnon. This had hockey analysts wondering how it could persuade the career-long Penguin to potentially leave in hopes of chasing one last Stanley Cup.

On Friday, TSN hockey analyst Mike Johnson spoke on "OverDrive" about the topic.

"I mean, could it ignite his competitive fire to the point where he thinks I don't want to be in a rebuilding situation, which is what Pittsburgh is going to be in the next couple of years, they sort of acknowledged that," Johnson said (15:15). "And if they trade Rickard Rakell away the same way they traded Jake Guentzel away, will that add another bit of fuel for that fire, perhaps?

"And then you couple that with, does the rest of the league now see what, as if we need a reminder, but a reminder how great Sidney Crosby can be, because if he leads this tournament in scoring, and Canada wins the tournament. Does that say, make Colorado say, listen, we gotta push harder. We gotta go after him harder because look how great he still is in the biggest moments. That's what we need.

"Let's trade our first-rounder for him. Who cares? Because he's so great. I wonder if that, if that sentiment grows across the league, I mean, maybe I think that might be wishful thinking because we like the idea of Crosby playing big games, we like the idea of Crosby being in the cup hunt, don't know if it's gonna go down that road.

"But boy, if he can do anything like in the first game, during the rest of the tournament, teams will still be calling Kyle Dubas saying, 'Can you talk to him, does he wanna go, 'cause we'd love to have him.'"

Even at 37, Sidney Crosby certainly remains one of the league's best, as he's produced 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists) through 55 games with Pittsburgh. He's on pace to extend his streak of averaging a point per game to 20 consecutive seasons, which would pass Wayne Gretzky (19 seasons) for the most in NHL history.

Sidney Crosby and Team Canada face their toughest test on Saturday night against Team USA

Sidney Crosby and Team Canada will have to lock back in and prepare for an all-out battle with the rival Americans.

Team USA dismantled Team Finland 6-1 in its tournament opener, showing its skill, grit and depth throughout the lineup. While Sweden was no easy matchup, the United States will be a different beast for Team Canada to handle.

The puck drops on this much-anticipated rivalry game at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.