Pass.

Habs shouldn't rush the rebuild.

This is actually completely opposite of rushing the rebuild and adding another 6-7 years on top of it.

Insane proposal

I disagree sir. If you believe Suzuki/Dach/Caufield/Slaf are your core at forward and Barron/Guhle/Xhekaj are your core at defense going forward... Giving them 2 examples of the absolute best at their position to learn from over 2-3 year is arguably a very good way to develop them to hit their potential.

We have 7 NHL-calibur LHD in the pipeline (9 with Eddy & Math) so trading Harris is not a big deal

We have Suzuki/Dach/Kidney/Davidson/Kapanen/Evans at center going forward (plus someone like Smith at this draft) so trading Beck is not a big deal

Farrell hurts at LW, but we have a lot of wingers in the pipeline

The 2 1sts are worth it to solve organizational weaknesses for the next 3 year.

Maybe we make the playoffs, maybe we don't... But Crosby will make these kids better pros, guaranteed.

Crosby isn't making anyone a star though. Adding young elite talent is needed, this keeps us from that for the next couple years and puts us in mediocre territory for years to come. Would just be wasting time all over again, this time just delaying to the point where we would have to trade Suzuki and Caufield at the end of it all and rebuild again.

Ok. I hear you on why you on "the window" being wrong.

But do you really think any of Harris, Beck, Farrell, Gurianov, Ylonen, Allen, or even PLD constitute Elite talent? These are all NHLers at one point in their careers for sure, but none of them is Elite and I doubt any of them will be 1st line players in their careers.

Crosby has a history of making wingers shine. I can see a world where Anderson hits 30 goals and 60 pts playing with Crosby and then we turn around and trade him for a king's ransom.

Crosby is STILL Elite and he is looking like he's gonna be a PPG player until he turns 40.

None of them are elite but out of the entire roster only Caufield is elite and that's the problem.

Think of it this way, with Crosby and Letang we likely draft #12-20 every year, missing out on actual elite young picks. Now it's 2028, Crosby and Letang retire leaving MTL with even less talent than they have right now, pushing them out of the playoff race, forcing them to sell off again and starting right back to where we are now, left with no actual success ever coming from making this trade

That's definitely one way to look at it and I can see your perspective.

Here is another possibility though:

Playing behind Crosby, and practicing with him every other day, Suzuki & Dach model the improvements they need to make as pros and as players after one of the all time greats. This insulates both of them to allow them to dominate and get more confident against 2nd line opposition. Ultimately when Crosby leaves the team, the players who remain are significantly better for it.

I'm not sure if you buy the concept that proper development is more important than draft position, but I know I do. Right now Suzuki & Dach are outclassed at least every second game. Can they improve on their own through exposure... Maybe... Will Crosby help them get there, absolutely.